Janet Flick (Stickel)

HAPPY ST PATRICK'S DAY!!

Love the photo, Rob.  I would have recognized you anywhere!   Your group certainly was enjoying the libations!

Happy Birthdays to Kathy (Kate), Lucia and Mary.

Lucia has again generously paid the annual $165 fee for our website.  If you want to chip in, please send your donation to:

Robert Radofski (Sullivan)

Mike,

No green Guinness here for sure. We like the dark brown stout with the white topping. Gives us strength!

My main instrument for the last 10 years has been bouzouki, then mandolin, tenor banjo and tenor guitar. All are tuned fiddle tuning, G on the bottom, D, A, and E on the top. The bouzouki, banjo and guitar are an octave lower, of course. I have a starter set of pipes like in the picture, but they are impossible for me so far.

Happy Saint Paddy's day everyone. Enjoy the craíc. (socialising) 

Mike Young

Happy birthday to Joyce, the special eds specialist.  Very noble.  We hope that your day is just as you'd like it to be.  You a great gramma yet?

And a happy birthday to you, too, Pat, all the way out there in Texas.  May your day (and the rest of the year for that matter) be full of those things that make you smile and laugh.

Rob, hope the craic was all it could be, but how could it not on St. Patrick's Day?  Making music has to be one of the most fulfilling things we can do.  To do it with 4 different instruments is more than impressive.  Sadly, when you start talking about the A, D, E, etc. I get lost, though I do know what a G string is.  Play on, Rob !!!! 

Mike Young

Fred, are you still lurking out there?  I see your Spartans have moved into the Sweet 16, and not without some drama.  Tom Izzo reminds me, in a few ways, of Al Fracassa.  I'd like to see them take out Ole Miss then square off either with the Wolverines again or Auburn.

Arlene Vachon (Forrester)

Rob, by any chance do you happen to know Alan Mooney? He's Irish and also has a group of musicians. My niece recently married him and left New York to live in London with him.

Mike Young

Happy Birthday, Andrea - while O'B may remember you as a used car saleslady, I'll always think of you as our most colorful classmate.  Green hair for the St. Patrick's Day Dance, Pink for Valentine's Day Dance, etc..  Are you still designing men's clothing or are you retired?   A Merry Unbirthday to the rest of us.

Robert Radofski (Sullivan)

Arlene,

Sorry, I don't know Alan Mooney, He's in the singer-songwriter group of musicians and in London. I'm in the "traditional tune" group, all instrumental, a different kettle of Irish fish. But I do know a possible distant set of relatives, Gus Mooney and three of his sons, all famous trad musicians based between Ennis and Cork. 

Mike Young

Rob, are you going to get any of the solar eclipse?  I was in one once about 20 years ago, but I wasn't properly equipped to look right at it, so, not much of an experience.

Lucia, I've been trying to imagine you as an "Old Lady" officially or other wise. I can't do it.  Perhaps if you were wearing some purple???

Robert Radofski (Sullivan)

Sorry Mike, but it was raining as usual this morning, so no eclipse for County Clare. But we have been promised by Met Eireann that there will be sunny days this coming week...   with intermitten showers. 

There's a reason even Julius Ceaser didn't want Ireland. Too gloomy for the old Italian. Ireland, often attacked but never conquered. The colonisers either left, or got integrated. We are like the Borg. Resistance is futile. LOL

Mike Young

Rob, I didn't find the weather so bad when I was on the Auld Sod, but, I was golfing more than a bit, though I do recall 35 mph winds, and that's not counting the gusts.  There's a golf course in Lahinch where there's a sign up in the clubhouse for weather - "See Goats".  Seriously, if you can see them on the dunes it's going to rain, if you can't see them, it will not be raining.  The locals swear by it and it was accurate the 2 days I was there.  Goats - rain.  No goats - no rain.  I did have quite an experience at a place called Bunnratty's, a castle converted to a pub with about 6 different rooms with a serving bar in each.  Long story short - I walked into a room about double the size of a classroom where patrons sing, play music, tell jokesetc., entertaining the whole room.  A fellow I had played golf with saw me and announced to the room that there was an American present, pointing at me.  Over 100 people all stood up and sang "God Bless America".  That brought tears to my eyes.  Resistance is futlie, indeed - though I'd not compare the Irish to Borgs in any other way. Scotland was never conquered because the locals would play bagpipes and the invaders would run for it.

Mike Young

Happy Birthday Pat Diggles.  We hope that you and the lovely Cynthia are enjoying the Spring weather up in Maine.  The snow has melted?  May your day be as beautiful as the scenery and the world be as kind to you as you have always been to us.

Robert Radofski (Sullivan)

Mike,

You know exactly what I'm experiencing here n Ennis. Lahinch is just a twenty minute drive from here, beautiful little seaside town with a nice beach and lovely locals. When I walk into any pub in the area with my bouzouki, I'm greeted with my cuppa tea and honey and a good dose of "giving out" from everyone. (I always try to stay one Guinness behind all the great players so they don't hear my mistakes.) Two and a half hours is then spent playing and singing and dancing and absorbing visiters and goading them into joining in the craic.

I'm reminded of my first visit to Ireland to find my ancestry in Killarney, Co. Kerry. I had an hour wait for my train at Heuston Station in Dublin, so I walked across the Liffey and went into the first pub I came to. There was a lot of commotion and yelling with horse racing on all the tellys. When I asked for my first proper Guinness, the publican asked where i was from and if I had any Irish in me. When I said my mother was a Sullivan, four lads hollered out "cousin" and my Guinness was free.

Today the sky is bright blue and 17° so everyone will be out and about in summer clothes.

We sent this picture to the instrument maker, Joe Foley, on his birthday

Mike Young

Happy Birthday, Pat Diggles, the left-handed human vacuum cleaner on the infield.  Ground balls never got by you.  I believe that your horoscope says that you should sit down with a pretty lady and have some cake and ice cream.  Think you can handle that?  The smart money is riding on you.

Rob, I stayed in Limerick and played Ballybunion, Lahinch and Tralee Golf Courses.  I recall a huge traffic circle with a hill in the middle.  I swear that many of the people sitting there were still there 5 hours later when I returned.  That doesn't look like Guinness in front of you.

Mike Young

Rick, We hope your birthday is all you want it to be.  Thanks for your enthusiasm and quick wit for our mini-reunions.  Thanks for bringing the lovely Val with her warm and ready smiles for everyone.  You make the day even better.

Lucia Lenhard (Johnson)

Rob, 

Is the basuki you play the same as the Greek instrument? Interesting musical/ geographic crossover, and of course, we don't see any belly dancing in Irish pubs.

Arlene Vachon (Forrester)

We haven't heard from Tom O'Brien in quite a while. I hope he is ok.

Robert Radofski (Sullivan)

Lucia,

The bouzouki is originally from Greece, has a round back and 6 strings in 3 double sets. I don't know the tuning. It was introduced into Irish traditional music in 1969 by Donal Lunny who played it in Planxty.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JyP407UnUWw  He also plays the 8 string modified Irish version. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bQHEdTWPQOA 

The Irish bouzouki has for 50 years been a backing instrument, mainly chords. Lately however, it has been used to play the melody of the tunes and adds a rich warm tone. The music has been composed on fiddle for generations, so my bouzouki, mandolin, banjo and tenor guitar are tuned to the  fiddle, the bouzouki, banjo and tenor being tuned an octave lower. I mainly play melody with a few chords, while my friend Seanie McGrath plays the chords with a few melody notes. A very nice compliment.

Lucia Lenhard (Johnson)

Thanks Rob for great info! Can't say I understand the musical tunings etc. but do appreciate hearing the history and evolution of it all. I have enjoyed the Greek music even though it can be a little rough on the dishware🤣 once the dancing gets to a certain level!  I will have to search my spotify for some examples of your descriptions of the Irish version. 

Robert Radofski (Sullivan)

Lucia,

The URLs on my last post are two videos of Planxty on youtube. Planxty live in 1970 and 1980. From there you can find many videos of both instruments. 

I've found that the folk musics of Greece, Scotland, French Britainie, Ireland, England and the Netherlands, as well as Appalachian Blue grass is written especially for dance. They are designed to break something, especially the ice. Music and dance are the world-wide languages for breaking baries.

Rick Fournier

Okay since we are talking instruments.  My wife Val and I play the mountain dulcimer in a group called Riverstrings.  Our next concert is May 30 at 7p at the First Congregational Church at 1315 N Pine in Rochester.

We play all kinds of music like waltzes, celtic, old time favorites to rock with songs like Proud Mary, Country Roads, Hello Mary Lou, Don't Think Twice, and many more.  We encourage the audience to sing along with anything they recognize.  Their are a variety of instruments including guitar, violin, a marimbula, ukelele, and drums to mention a few.

This is a mountain dulcimer. It is played on your lap similar to a guitar.

Mike Young

My compliments to all the musicians.  I spoke with John Mills about creating beautiful sounds. We compared it to any artist, whether it be painting scupting, designing, whatever, and how satisfying it can be.  For you to be so proficient with several instuments has to be terrific for you, Rob.  Kudos to all of you.

Meanwhile, happy birthday to Jean - I hope you have survived all the commotion in California and that your day has been filled with laughter and love.

Happy Birthday to you, too, Cheryl.  I hope that your day is also all you would like it to be.  I trust that your puting stroke is still as smooth as a Dairy Queen and that you'll join us this August and demonstrate it.

Mike Young

Happy Birthday, Jim out there in the land of mountains and Mormons.  We hope that life is as good as may be and that your day is full of the htings that make you smile.  You are one of the people that I have met whom I admire greatly - not merely because of what you have achieved but for the way you treated everyone.

Mike Young

Dave, the best of birthdays for you!!  We hope that you and Barb have some grandkids over to celebrate and help you blow out the candles filling the day with love and laughter. Perhaps you will be able to celebrate outdoors, though we all know how schizophrenic April weather can be, (not unlike some ladies I've dated).  We hope to see you both this August to enhance the gathering.

David Unger

Tom, thanks for the Birthday wishes.  We had 11 family members for Easter dinner this year, and since it was so close to our birthdays, they helped us both in celebrating.  It seems like many of us have the same question, "How did we get here this fast?" 

Outside of the usual aches and pains, we are both doing pretty good.  Our doctors are earning their money.  We are looking forward to a good summer with lots of outdoor things to do, not the least of which is a much better golf game this year.  

Just remember, your best birthday is the NEXT one.  Stay safe and get ready for a good time in August.

Dave and Barbara

Mike Young

Happy birthday, Mary Jo.  You were always so soft spoken but with a ready smile for everyone.  Our world has been blessed to have you in it.

Happy birthday, Marieda with the ready laugh and kind words - you were never boring nor dull.  A ready charge of enthusiasm for many occasions.

A Merry Unbirthday to the rest of us.