things I did for my b-day - part 2

The first dance I did as a child was highland dancing when I was 4 or 5. I'm not entirely sure why my mother chose Scottish dance since she's Irish as the day is long, but I would have to guess that it's because she loves kilts.

So when I heard they were doing the Highland Dance Championships down at Harbourfront, I was excited to see all the flinging and sword dancing that would go on.

And the kilts were flying!

I watched for about 3 hours - I really can watch hard working dancers accompanied by live bagpipes for a long time! Then I thought I'd go and find the Irish Famine Monument nearby. It's tucked away in a funny spot on the waterfront not far from where the boats from Ireland docked over 150 years ago.

This might not seem like the most uplifting thing to do, but I watched P.S. I Love You for the millionth time recently and a couple of the characters go to the Irish Hunger Monument in NYC with corned beef sandwiches to kinda show the ancestors that they were doing alright. I liked that idea.

The sculptures seem quite sad to me. They are called "The Arrival" and there is a series of figures in Dublin called "The Departure" by the same artist. I thought there was something very sweet about the flowers and coins left with them - are they wishes for the dead or the living?

But I didn't feel the need to leave anything. I came to say "you survived your hard journeys so that I could be here - and I sing and I dance and I smile with my Irish heart on my sleeve. I am grateful and all is well - be at peace, síochána."