|
This writing was accepted for publication in the 108 page perfect-bound ISSN#/ISBN# issue/book “Another Lifetime” cc&d, v295 (the Mar. 2020 issue) Order the 6"x9" paperback book: 
|
|
|
| ||
|
Order this Janet Kuypers writing from her poetry book Every Event of the Year (Volume One: January-June) Order this 200+ page 7½" x 9¼" ISBN# book today of select poetry for holidays and events spanning the first half of the calendar year
|
|
|
| |
|
Order this writing in the issue book Aiming at Immortality the cc&d Feb.-April 2020 magazine issues collection book |
 |
get the 322 page Feb.-April 2020 cc&d magazine 6" x 9" ISBN# paperback book:
|
| ||
| Once They were Moved to This Foreign Land
Janet Kuypers 3/17/19 For those not knowing the ways of the Catholic Church, know that people become saints based on their lifetime deeds (not necessarily their visions they may have had while fasting and only allowed to drink alcohol). So, if anybody was curious, Saint Patrick, according to legend, was from England — but Irish pirates took him hostage for six years. However, after having problems upon his return to England, he went back to Ireland. As a priest there, he actually converted all of the poly-theistic pagan Irish over to Christianity, which kind of pleased the Catholic Church. Now, in Catholicism, it seems that every day is saved for a saint, and March 17th was originally reserved as a day to celebrate St. Patrick, because that day is when they believe he died. Now, I talk to men who were alter boys, and they tell me they never remember hearing the Catholic Church ever make any mention of St. Patrick, much less honor him. So... this alter boy’s theory is that when the Irish were ridiculed upon arrival in the United States, they thought that maybe they would latch on to this holiday as a way to honor the Irish, and as a chance to bring the Irish together. Now, since some may possibly say the Irish have a penchant for drinking, the holiday really caught on as a way to celebrate way too much here in the U.S. # For me right now, living a thousand miles away from my own home, I was out drinking yesterday — call it a pre-celebration for St. Patrick’s Day — and I saw someone wearing clothes naming my hometown. I had to approach and give personal props if they were from the same town as me. And afterward we laughed and commiserated and talked about our town for over an hour, and it was great to connect with someone from my past, with someone with my roots, even for just a little while on one day. And as small as this seems, as insignificant as this may seem, a part of me wonders if this is how the Irish felt once they were moved to this foreign land. So whatever the reasons were, and whatever this history was, this one day seems to be a day where everyone can claim to be Irish, and it’s okay. Because even if you’re not, unlike the discrimination the Irish first felt here in the States, this is now the one day everyone welcomes each other, no matter our nationality. |
