Laughing in the face of death

A man I never knew passed away the other morning. I wish I had known him.

I know his son-in-law since we were infants. In Infants. Baby Infants. I know his wife almost as long.

The Irish grapevine might get messages mangled more often than not, but if the message is important it spreads fast and clear. In matters of death, the Irish grapevine is 2.0.

As soon as I heard I picked up the phone. “Just heard the news. How’s herself holding up?”

Very shook. But she’s keeping busy. Things to organise. Ya know yerself.

“Was it quick in the end? Eh, I mean easy, painless”.

Well, he knew he was going. Just hours. He called us all together in the night. Family, friends, neighbours, the whole lot. Told the gang to look after their mother. My lads to look after their granny. Told us all he loved us and to look after each other.

“That must have been rough”.

It was. Yeah. Banshees all ’round.

Then the mother-in-law goes and puts a relic in his hands. “Here now, Patsy. Padre Pio is here with ya now. He’s going to take care of everything. You’re going to be right as rain again in no time with Padre Pio looking after ya”.

“Well”, says himself, “he’d want to get the fecking finger out then, wouldn’t he”.

13 Comments so far (Add 1 more)

Me thinks if Padre Pio recovered from his self abuse - No not wankin’ - Mr Whippy n’ all that! and oh yeah um - DEATH! he wouldn’t be of much use to anybody considering he’s well BROWN DEAD! - I have this discussion with me Ma on a regular basis - she prays to Saint A to Z like bingo numbers depending on the problem - if only it was that simple! - Clickety Click - 2 fat Virgin Mary’s cures the flu!
p.s. Warn me (or just block me!) not to come to yours after I’ve had a skinfull!

1. Quickroute on June 19th, 2008 at 8:52 am
I knew plenty of people who were given a Padre Pio relic… they all died!

2. Grannymar on June 19th, 2008 at 10:47 am
Then again, for believers, death is not the end.

And going into it with humour is a good way. Certainly better than despair.

3. aonghus on June 19th, 2008 at 1:36 pm
Every time I eat a jammy dodger I think of Padre Pio. The deceased sounds like he called it as it is, a good trait.

4. Conan Drumm on June 19th, 2008 at 2:21 pm
Padre Pio was never the same men after he hooked up with Mother Teresa.

I’m neither here nor there, he said.

5. Bock the Robber on June 19th, 2008 at 11:30 pm
Quickie ~ You should pass this list on to your mother. Just in case there are some she doesn’t yet know about.

St. Amand is in charge of winemakers and brewers, by the way.

Grannymar ~ Such a shame. You just can’t get good quality relics these days. I think it all went downhill when they shifted production to China.

Aonghus ~ That’s exactly why I wish I’d known him. Always good humoured and incredibly witty.

Conan ~ Thanks. I can never eat a jammy dodger again. Does spaghetti remind you of St. Bridget? The cross and all that?

Bock ~ Boom cha!
Often wondered if he was double taxed.

6. Primal Sneeze on June 20th, 2008 at 5:22 am
Me Ma says to say thanks for the Patron Saints List She also wants to know why Limerick has a patron saint but Dublin doesn’t?

b.t.w. I prayed to St. Amand about 20 minutes ago to refill my glass and nought has happened yet. Can I borrow that Padre Pio statue as I have a bit of a drooth coming on?

7. Quickroute on June 20th, 2008 at 5:59 am
Quickie ~ That’s a first for sure. Normally Dublin gets everything going.

Funny that. My coffee mug miraculously filled 20 minutes ago. Maybe he (she?) got mixed up, not being familiar with this Internet thingy.

8. Primal Sneeze on June 20th, 2008 at 7:29 am
Brilliant. Reminds me of when Richard Harris was taken to hospital shortly before he died - he was in a restaurant and as they were carting him out on a stretcher he hauled himself up and yelled at all the people watching “It was the food!”

9. Caro on June 20th, 2008 at 9:48 am
Is the bould Laurence O’Toole not a Saint yet? Is he not the Patron of Dublin?

10. Grannymar on June 20th, 2008 at 11:39 am
Yes. And Yes. Along with Kevin. Two good wicklowmen….

http://saints.sqpn.com/pst00924.htm
http://saints.sqpn.com/saintl61.htm
http://saints.sqpn.com/saintk02.htm

11. aonghus on June 20th, 2008 at 1:17 pm
Caro ~ Yeah! That was class. Like Spike Milligan’s epitaph: Duirt mé leat go raibh mé breoite.

Grannymar ~ Sorry. I don’t read the appointments section these days. I never know who’s after being promoted.

Aonghus ~ (More than 2 links and you get mod’ed. Sorry about that).

Interesting(ish) site. I see there are saints for Europe already there. That’s one less thing to be decided post-Lisbon.

12. Primal Sneeze on June 20th, 2008 at 1:35 pm
Post Lisbon is probably pre Lisbon.

But anyway the curia in Rome has been around for a lot longer than the commission in Brussels, and have better diplomats…

I thought Columbán was on that list, but maybe not.

13. aonghus on June 20th, 2008 at 3:46 pm