Wonderful sunshine at last

 https://youtu.be/vxuvFGbh9TI?si=rVgVvlUKuqtFQk6R

I hope that the link above works, George Burns. 

The song reminds me that I am not as young as I once was. Though I am still here.

So yesterday I was in the Omni shopping center remarking how many units are closed down when I noticed a girl with a fantastic sun tan and I spoke to her. 

She was from Chile and she had the most wonderful beautiful eyes. I remarked about how great they were and she said that she took them from her mother. 

(I didn't drop the line "How can she manage when you took her eyes?")  

But it was time to go. 

There was something special about the shape of her eyes, something kind of Oriental. Then it hit me Aztec blood, how wonderful.

She landed here last night and met me the next day. Pity I didn't give her my number. 

We are blessed that so many good people have come here to work. We were once the nomads of the world looking for work in England, America, Australia and everywhere else.  I picked up 2 girls from the North Pole once. They had met so many Irish that they had to come and see for themselves.

What did they think?   MY GOD such a beautiful country, green with gentle rain. Why would anyone go?

A history lesson followed and they landed at the airport, A big hug and they were on their way,

300 meters down the road a girl waved me down, Where are you from? Terra Del Fugue, The very tip of S.America. 

Taxi drivers should be schooled to tell a few jokes, to lift the mood.

So I went for a few pints the other night and I took the bus into Clearys pub. After a few pints I was heading home. I decided that when I got home I would take my clothes off downstairs and slip up the stairs and into bed. My plan was going well and when I reached the top of the stairs I realized that something was badly wrong.

I was still on the bus ``` Naked on the top deck 

A trouble shared

 I went up to get a haircut yesterday and I met a taxi driver who was charging up his electric car.

I told him that I had been a taxi driver and the conversation went on for a while longer.

There was a lull in the conversation and then he told me about his troubles.

He was divorced and he brought up his son by himself from infant to youth.

Then one evening he was riding his bicycle along the cycle lane a car plowed into him and killed him instantly. The driver was drunk and was in the process of overtaking 4 cars in one go.

It had happened recently enough and he still had the mental scars of the tragedy.

I look forward to dying he said, so that I can hold him in my arms again up in heaven.

I hope that God will give him some peace. 

 

 

 

40 years ago where was I ?

 I was not always a taxi driver. At that time I was on the night shift in the international telephone exchange. Fielding calls to and from the whole world. 

A Greek youth was doing the same job once upon a time. He was very naughty he listened into peoples calls and with that information he became one of the worlds richest meh. Aristotle Onassis.

Anyhow around 5,30 am a call came in from Moscow "I order you get me this number. Sorry no reply. Then the caller cut in. There has to be a reply that is the RTE number.

There has been an explosion in an atomic plant here in Russia.

One of the other operators overheard and said The switchboard is closed now it opens around 8.30. He panicked  and I said that I would link him to the Times and the Independent newspapers than I would call him back at 8.15, So it happened.

The Moscow operators were not so patient, but they were shocked with all that was happening that day. 

What kind of an organization would have a room full of reporters without a direct phone line.

A ship sank a few years later....... still ne direct line.  

Just one more thing

 As the detective Colombo would say.

I have a book in my collection called Navajo weapon. The Navajo code talkers by Sally McClain.

I hope that it is still on Amazon. 

It is very detailed. An American Indian called Mike Shand contacted me through the blog and led me through a bit of his world. The link to his blog is there on the side. I hope that it is still active.

 

Fairwell to the last whisperer

 During World 2 the signals between naval ships were being read by the Japanese. The allies came up with a very clever solution. They went to the Navajo Indian reservation and decided to use them to pass messages. One Indian passed the message and the receiver translated it back to English, making sure his mike was off.The Japanese never cracked the code. One guy from America told me that a "Bodyguard" was with each Indian. Not to protect him but to shoot him to avoid capture.

I do believe that they never got a pension or medals. But Obama did take steps to correct the situation. 

I think that they are based outside of Las Vegas.

Google has it 

A chance meeting

 I had a chance meeting with a lady when I was up in Lidl the other day. I remarked that she had a great car (Toyota) and she told me that her old car was on its last legs and she had put some money away for a new one. Her son said that it was time to change the car so off they went.

Did you ever walk into a car showroom and be left standing there? Well they went to 2 garages and were left standing there. They came back home and had a cup of tea before going to another garage where they met a lively young lad who matched them up with the car. The Toyota garage in Kilbarrick it was.

A taxi man I knew was going to buy a Mercedes car for cash.The parents had died and the family home had been sold and the cash had been divided.

He walked into the showroom at MSL motors in Ballsbridge.

A salesman blocked him and turned him around pushing him out the door he said "Get out of here you, you can afford nothing here. just wasting our time" I told Arnold Clarke who has 800 garages and he said.

"If that happened in one of my garages the salesman would get a kick on the arise that would propel him 6 feet" 

Once I was in Park Lane in London looking through the window of a high end dealership.

A guy came out and pleaded with us to come in, beautiful cars. You do know that we cannot afford one.

Perhaps tomorrow? At least now you know where we are now. 

I turned around and 4 people had come in.  

You see an empty showroom will not attract people. Thank you. 

 The last 8 or 9 cars I bought were from Japan Have a look go to ibc.co.jp

When is the last time you bought a pair of shoes or sandals in a shop? 

Funny how things change 

The new Irish

 My wife took me shopping and when we reached the checkout she remembered something else.

She left me at the checkout and I started to talk to a Romanian girl. Her English was remarkable but I picked up a slight accent. She told me that when she was growing up she went to an English school.

There is something about her that says inelegance right up front. I told her that the new Irish who are coming has been the making of Ireland both in eagerness to work and the standard of education. 

She told me that she was very glad of the recognition and told me about her last job in the UK. She had worked hard and now was almost in charge of the company she was in. She was in charge of 40 workers and more or less the running of the business. After 3 years without a raise she collared her boss and he looked her in the eye and said 

"You are hardly worth the wages you are on" 

It was like a slap on the face. that day I wrote 3 letters. 2 days one of our competitors brought me in for a chat.  I got the job straight away on twice my current pay.

My boss and his son loved playing golf and that is what was important to them ,so I am not sure if they read my 2 weeks notice letter. 10 days later I told the boss that he should be training my replacement, sure that would be no trouble...I was gone with no handshake and my new boss welcomed me with open arms. 

Back at the old job things fell apart in spectacular fashion. After 2 weeks 20 of the staff were gone and then the company went bang... No more time for golf.. Time to take lessons in communication.

She was a really bright girl and thank God the migrants are here 

Abuse from the bank

 | had a corn which was annoying me so I took a razor blade and cut it off.

I time long ago comes back to me when I do this. I was in Sicili and that old corn was giving me trouble and I went into a chemist and asked for a Bohemian blade (one edge and a rigid back) He went off and came back an a few seconds. "What are you using it for?" when I told him you would think that I had pointed a gun at him.. "No No Noway",,,#, So he sold me different stuff,

I still cut the buggers off. A friend of mine who died aged 103 told me that she had never even seen a corn. So off with the socks and I explained what I would do,,,

When Mabel was around 98 the local rector called in to check up on her. After a bit of a chat the rector mentioned that they were building a new church hall and that they were looking for donations. Her reply still makes me smile to this day. " You sold the old church hall and all the land and you got more than 1 1/2 million for that. How could you be short of money?"  I wish I was there to see the Reverent s face.

 

The church held the Irish people in a fierce stranglehold in the past. Mother and baby homes, Magdalene laundry's,and borstals where children were beaten without mercy. 

I had a guy who told me that he was 8 before he was adopted by and American couple who were of German origin.  You have no idea what it was like to reach the age of 8 without anyone saying, you did great, well done, come here till I give you a hug.

He did great in the end but I will respect his privacy and tell you no more. 

This would nearly make a chapter in my next book.

We bought and sold our house and  my wages were paid into the PTSB and then a payment was paid into the AIB to pay the mortgage.. Then one day my transfer did not happen and I got a call from a man shouting.."Hey buddy whats the fuck are you doin, ya didn't pay yer mortgage. I asked who that was the fucking bank ya bollix.  And so on and on. 

When he ended the call I was shaken and my wife thought that it was a joke. But as the days passed I decided to take action and complain. I wrote a letter No reply, I wrote a second letter and handed it in, Still no reply. I told a friend of mine whose wife worked in the bank. She rang me straight away.

Write to the banking Ombudsman Tell them the whole story, dates and times. 

2 days later  the reply came, just to straighten up a few points.

A week later a letter arrived with a check for €1200 and an apology.

I had not realized that my friends wife was a director of the AIB bank and she told me that she went into the meeting room to listen to my case.  The abuser had done it as a joke and as they were playing back the tape you could hear the other people in the office laughing.  He was the nephew of the manager and it was him who got the young lad the job.

His uncle was visibly dying in front of everyone. Mary told me that if I had complained further I would have got much more money.