Tea, Father? And Other Bits Of Irish Life

Source: IrishRainPhotography.com

Ireland - the land of Bono, Father Ted, pints, and "the craic". And for the past three years, and counting, it's been my home. 

Only a few non-Irish residents that I've met here know what I mean when I say that you just can't get this kind of silly anywhere else. The quirkiest things seem to happen here and it's the only country I've been in where the people actually get on board with the whimsical nature of everyday life. 

To begin a new series called "Tea, Father? And Other Bits Of Irish Life", I would like to share a short, yet profound experience I had with a woman in an elevator:

I enter an elevator of a 3 story building. An older rather squat woman with large glasses follows in behind me. I press the button for the floor below me.

"Oh, beejayzus!" she screams as she braces herself with both arms in a wide-V in the corner of the elevator.

I stare at her. Stunned.

She gulps and asks, "Is this going down," and then, gathering herself says very matter-of-factly, "Oh, it's supposed to do that."

When the elevator door opens and she exits, she looks at me with a blush in her cheeks and says, "Don't mind me, I'm just dizzy."

As she gets off, I clutch my hands to my chest and beam at the wonderful absurdity of life in Ireland.

Source: CorkIndependent.com