Some good Shakespeare

“The lunatic, the lover, and the poet are of imagination all compact”

Fighting?

“I learned long ago, never to wrestle with a pig, you get dirty; and besides, the pig likes it.”
-- George Bernard Shaw

“You must not fight too often with one enemy, or you will teach him all your art of war.”
-- Napoleon Bonaparte

“The painful warrior famous for fight, After a thousand victories, once foil'd, Is from the books of honor razed quite, And all the rest forgot for which he toil'd”
-- William Shakespeare

Facts about Brendan Behan

born Feb. 9, 1923, Dublin, Ire.—died March 20, 1964, Dublin.
Irish author noted for his earthy satire and powerful political commentary.

Reared in a family active in revolutionary and left-wing causes against the British, Behan at the age of eight began what became a lifelong battle with alcoholism. After leaving school in 1937, he learned the house-painter's trade while concurrently participating in the Irish Republican Army (IRA) as a courier.

Behan was arrested in England while on a sabotage mission and sentenced (February 1940) to three years in a reform school at Hollesley Bay, Suffolk. . He was deported to Dublin in 1942 and was soon involved in a shooting incident in which a policeman was wounded. He was convicted of attempted murder and sentenced to 14 years.

Best way to ask for a miracle

"If you ask in My Father's name all things will be granted should they glorify Him."
-- The Bible

Comment: Include peace and reconciliation.

Hope!

"It is the ashes in our lives that permit a greater love to come."
-- Fr John Corapi

Irish on Politics

It has been said of Sir Boyle Roche, MP (1743-1807) for Tralee, Co. Kerry), that he only opened his mouth to change his feet. On one occasion he told his audience that "the cup of Ireland's misery has been overflowing for centuries and is not yet half full." Joining that remarkable cup is this spectacularly mixed metaphor, also by Roche: "All along the untrodden paths of the future, I can see the footprints of an unseen hand."

"Do you want to see my shadow?" News from St. Lucia

It is hot. All the windows and doors are open and birds are nesting in the house. Driving through villages on tiny twisting roads cut through the rainforest chickens peck at stray trash. Ragged lonely dogs skinny and dirty hang their tongues as they scurry off the road. Men carry machetes, to harvest coconuts and just because. They stop in the street to sharpen them on rocks. Groups of children of all ages dressed in colorful school uniforms laugh and talk on the way to school. Grizzled emmaciated old men with yellowing dreadlocks stare into nothing as they walk. Just past the square in Soufriere we take a wrong turn. The road narrows and eyes from the groups sitting along the street watch us carefully. A frantic beggar runs to offer help for a price. Everyone is suddenly shouting. When we finally make it out through the maze of crooked streets the air rushes through the window and finally we breathe. At the beach the mountains reach into the ocean and relief from the heat finally comes. The water is so clear and salty we float with ease and talk together in the water as if we were sitting at the kitchen table.