Celebrating St. Patrick's Day, early

I grew up in the South where stories were expected, especially around the dinner table, especially on Sundays. Noontime dinners were a big deal, lots of food, lots of relatives, lots of stories. My grandmother and my father were the best storytellers. So now, without those big family dinners, I just write down the stories. That's probably why I like writing personal essays. Thanks to my writing group mentor Lee, who taught me alot about the genre, I've had some success in publishing a few.

The Christian Science Monitor's Home Forum has published four of my essays, including one about St. Patrick's Day in yesterday's newspaper. Click on it for my friend Barbara's recipe for colcannon, also adapted from Edel's mom's recipe. Yum. Wish I had some right now.

An extra added attraction, or perhaps something to be avoided, is that I was also interviewed about my article. The microphone icon is clickable if you dare. But now I know why my mother always refused to be recorded. My brother-in-law George videotaped every Christmas morning and Mama ran in the opposite direction of that camera. Having heard my own voice on the website, from now on I, too, will shun the microphone.