Happy St. Patty's Day

 

A wee greeting from your favorite 1/2 Jewish blogger.

As faithful readers of RoundSeventeen know my Hebraic tank is only half full. Enough to give me executive privilege and tell off color Jewish jokes, speak freely about our lame holidays, and crack wise about the un-aesthetically pleasing nature of Judaica home decor. 

In fact my good friend Jean Robaire, he a full Sephardic Jew, has a collection of glasses, menorahs and other assorted kitsch that is worthy of a thousand out loud laughs.

The other half of my tank, the one that makes me a first-born American, comes from my Scottish mother, born and raised in the tough town of Paisley right outside Glasgow. 

And because the good folks at 23andme have been mining and re-mining my DNA data, I have recently discovered that the people who left Scotland to come to America --my mother and her sister, my aunt Mary (RIP)-- are descended from people who left Ireland to go to Scotland.

That's right, the chromosomes don't lie. My ancestors hail from Donegal, or what one travel guide suggests is the Coolest place on Earth. I think that's a typo. I can well imagine Donegal, which is impossibly more north than Northern Ireland may be the Coldest place on Earth.

Mind you, I have not been there, though someday I'd to like to go, but I am painfully aware of the stinging cold that sweeps across the both coasts of Scotland. It is unlike any other cold experienced on the planet. And I lived in Syracuse, NY for 4 years.

Because of this recent discovery, this is the first St. Patty's Day I can celebrate as an Irishman. And you won't find many Siegels or Cohens that can say that.

With that in mind, I plan to hoist a beer or two. 

WIFE: "But you drink a beer or two, or three, every night."

ME: Tonight I'm going to drink Guiness. And I'm gonna have a wee spot of whiskey.

WIFE: You have whiskey almost every night.

ME: OK, but tonight it's going to be Bushmills.

WIFE: Maybe we should have some corned beef and cabbage?

ME: I have a better idea. Let's get some Jewish Pastrami on Rye!

Erin Go Barucha!