Tuesday Night Fights

I went out looking for a fight last night. Not a fist fight because that’s not my style but a good ole fashion political debate. I have smiled and nodded when pressed on the election by Europeans. Last night I was taking no prisoners. Thankfully, the election was mentioned only once and it was by a very polite German who just wanted to know whether we were interested in the results.

Chris and I went to a bar that featured live Irish music. A six piece band played an assortment of Irish folk songs with a banjo and didgeridoo thrown in for good measure. The Dutch started smoking cigarettes as the band was packing up their instruments so we walked to another Irish bar around the corner. I poked my head in the door. The crowd was sparse and rough looking. They all turned to look at us and as we were walking away, thinking better of going in, they yelled at us to join them for a pint. The bar was run by a Dutchman but all the patrons were British and Irish expats. Dave was the most intoxicated of the bunch. He had a small town English accent, the kind that is difficult to understand sober and nearly impossible to understand when the accent holder is drunk. Everyone was incredibly friendly.

Dave’s buddy, Noel (father of Leon, true story), came into the bar carrying a guitar case. Dave was all over Noel to play a song. “Oh, frr fcck sake, Noel, jss play us one fcckin dune.” Noel finally relented and I am ever glad he did. Chris and I ended up staying out way too late; but how could we resist a free private show from an Irish folk singer? Chris knew several of the songs and sang along. I chimed in on "Sam Hall" and a couple of the more famous ones. They loved us. The bartender gave us half pints of Guinness and asked us to come back on Friday night. We’ll see. We have made plans to go to the West Frisian Islands this weekend. I’m sure we’ll have plenty of seal pictures come Monday.

The End of Freedom

Ladies and Gentlemen, the President of the United States, Barack Hussein Obama.

I don’t want to go on and on about the election but I’m a little queasy right now. I wish I could enjoy the historical significance of the first black President of the United States but I can’t. Chavez, Putin, and the like are going to eat him for lunch. It’s scary. But, worrying is not going to change anything. Obama is going to be our President. There’s no way around it.