“All you good good people, listen to me
You’re just about done with the way that you feel
‘Cause nothing rings home enough to dig your heels in
You don’t have to leave me to see what I mean
Lose all your fears, they are keeping you down
You won’t have to fake it, while I’m around
All you good good people listen to me”
McNamara / McNamara (Embrace ‘All You Good Good People’ )
My membership of the Monaghan Town Runners is due for renewal. My membership of the Monaghan Town Runners was due for renewal two weeks ago, but I actually went to the bother of printing off the form and filled it in today and it was all going swimmingly until I came to a question that I’d normally just put a line through :
Include and details of any medical condition/ allergy/ medication/ special needs , or dietary requirements …
A single line was provided to fill in the details. I was going to write “Had cancer, may still have a bit, not sure until Feb 20th, but feel grand.”
I thought I’d better check with someone, so I rang a close friend who also sits on the MTR committee and explained my dilemma.
“Just write ‘See Facebook’, sure everyone knows already.” He replied. I made a lame joke about oversharing. He laughed lamely.
Someone else asked why I share so much, and I said I’d heard a story a while ago about a chap who was having great trouble sleeping. His girlfriend was getting fed up and asked :
“Why can’t you sleep ?”
“I owe my neighbour €1000 and I can’t pay him back.”
“Which neighbour ?”
“Frank.”
She gets out of bed and opens the window and shouts out “Frank ! Frank !”
Frank opens his window and shouts back “WHAT ???”
“He can’t pay you back that €1000.” She shouts, then closes the window and hops back into bed and says, “It’s his worry now. Go to sleep.”
I write because I can’t help it, but also because it helps get stuff I’m thinking about out of my head and onto the page/screen, and invariably one of you good good people comment, or share advice, and I find it helps.
Like what ?
Well this week I’ve been mostly concerned about two things. Firstly , the rhyme ‘Humpty Dumpty’ ?
Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall,
Humpty Dumpty had a great fall.
All the King’s horses,
And all the King’s Men,
Couldn’t put Humpty together again.
Why is Humpty Dumpty portrayed as an egg ?
No one knows who wrote it, and there’s no mention of an egg, so why ???
And secondly, Jake.
Jake came home on Monday from Galway for a short visit before he heads to Portugal for three months with Sarah. THREE MONTHS ! We once went a whole 4 weeks without seeing him and just drove to Galway on a whim, met him for a coffee, and drove back.
THREE MONTHS ?!?
On Tuesday night I made a vegan ragu that was so tasty that … well, it was tasty…which you don’t always get with vegan anything. We sat at the table and chatted about everything and nothing, accompanied by wine and beer. Some great things were discovered and some great stories were told, and then we feel asleep in front of the fire watching ‘Puss N Boots’.
Sarah arrived on Wednesday with a car full of Jakes books which I’m looking forward to perusing. We went to Rossmore and visited our new Drumlin Giant, Druid, discovered great things, and told great stories. They cooked us a lentil dahl for tea, which was delicious too. I know, two for two on the vegan meals in the one week ! We again chatted about everything and nothing before watching ‘Rushmore’, a lovely old Wes Anderson movie…which I fell asleep during.
They headed off to Galway at lunchtime today, or yesterday as you’re reading this, giving them great hugs and very bravely not crying.
I headed back to the office, desperate to find something to do and not think about the next THREE MONTHS. I was making a cup of tea and Joe popped in and asked how was Jake.
“Gone.” I mumbled bravely and turned away.
“Japan is it ?”
“No, Portugal.”
“I thought I’d heard he was going to Japan.”
“That’s later. Portugal for the next three months and then Tokyo…or Toronto.”
“Isn’t that fantastic ?”
I looked at Joe blankly, “Fantastic ?”
“Yeah, they can go anywhere they want, when they want.”
“Hmmm, well now you put it like that, yes, YES it is indeed FANTASTIC !”
Joe is good good people.
Jake and Sarah are good good people.
They’ll be fine.
I’ll be fine.
2 months, three weeks, and six days……
Toodles,
Paul
