Thanks to my mother, I am one-half Norwegian, and thanks to my father I am one-quarter German, one-eighth English and one-eighth Irish. I claim the Irish part from my Great-Great Grandmother on the Cherrington side who was a Gillilan, straight from the Emerald Isle. And who knows, perhaps way way way back the Gillilan's were actually marauding Norsemen! So I am covered any way you look at it - I am wearing green today, and playing all of my Celtic CD's! No green beer, though....
On a sad note, a great Irishman passed away this morning, the husband of a couple who are my parents closest friends from Pine City days ~ Donald Doran died peacefully at age 85. He was a fine gentleman, a grand fisherman and WWII veteran. He owned the Jack and Jill grocery store where he was the also the butcher. (No better meat has ever been enjoyed than that which he sold - to this day I haven't eaten anything better than Mr. Doran's!) We spent many hours out on the lake in pontoons with the Doran family - the kids were our friends, Colleen is my sister Barbara's oldest and bestest friend in fact. They were a fun bunch, always laughing and enjoying life. Mrs. Doran lives yet, as do their three daughters and one son. It's funny how much more I remember about our times with the Doran's as I grew up, and doing that right now gives me many more happy thoughts than sad ones.
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