Friday, 3/16

I wonder how many people around here are like me?

I count among the 7 or 8 nationalities in my ethnic makeup Irish and Finnish. If I were a drinking person, I guess that might mean that I wouldn’t be sober through, say, the beginning of next week, what with having to celebrate St. Urho’s Day and St. Patrick’s Day back to back. But since I’m not a drinking person, I just have to make sure I wear purple today (a color in which I look good) and green tomorrow (a color that, to be honest, doesn’t flatter me as much as I’d like).

Oh, the problems we have in life, right?

Anyway, like I said, I’ve been wondering how many people in the U.P. have both Ireland and Finland as part of their heritage? I mean, I know there was a large Irish population in Marquette, especially in south Marquette (which is where I get mine), and I think everyone knows that one or two (or perhaps a few more) people emigrated to the U.P. from Finland a century or so ago. Over the years, I’ve met a people with a lot of Finnish in their blood, and I’ve met a lot of people with Irish in their blood, but I don’t know how many have both. And that makes me curious.

(Of course, I’d also be curious to know how many people also have English, Scotch, German, French, Swedish, and whatever else I’m made up of in their blood, as well!)

Now, despite my curiosity, I have to say that I’m be a very poor excuse for someone curious about his ethnic background. I don’t know any Finnish or any Gaelic; I don’t eat foods from either country, and I certainly don’t have any tales of the family back in the “old country”. For many years, I didn’t even give a second thought to anything in my background. After all, I was just “me”.

But since I’ve started traveling to some of my “old” countries (and, I’m guessing, since I’ve started to get older, despite my best efforts to stop it) I’ve started to wonder a little about all the little ingredients that were part of the recipe that became “me”. I find parts of it kind of interesting, too. I’m both Irish and Swedish because a young Irish man married a young Swedish woman over 100 years ago at a time when young Irish men didn’t usually marry young Swedish women. One of the ancestors of that young Irish man may have been a poet back in the old country. And one of my long-ago English ancestors had children who were circus clowns or who ran away to join an elephant act in a carnival.

See? It explains a lot, doesn’t it?

So if you happen to be one of those people who has Finnish blood or Irish blood (or, if you’re lucky, both) enjoy the next few days. Wear purple and/or green. Try not to drink too much. And if you do, remember--drink lots of water before you go to bed at night. Lots and lots of water.

At least that’s what someone once told me. . .

Anyway, happy St. Patrick-Urho Daze. And if you have more than just Finnish or Irish in your background, enjoy celebrating the days devoted to those countries, as well!!!

(jim@wmqt.com), who WILL be taking Monday off for a 3-day weekend. Back with new stuff on Tuesday!