Alphabe Thursday - "W" Is For Wearing of the Green - March 17, 2011

Remembering Mayra

Today everyone is Irish,

And enjoys a festive whirl,

But while most are celebrating,

Edith mourns her oldest girl.

Toasts are raised on high to Ireland,

And folks remember the old sod,

But in one California city,

A saddened mother questions God.

On this very day, ten years ago,

In far El Salvador,

Four children told their mom goodbye,

As she went off to the store.

She never came back home to them,

A speeding driver took her life,

This daughter, sister, mother,

And a loving husband's wife.

So Edith doesn't dance a jig,

Tears always dim her eyes,

Every 17th of March, my friend,

Spends time in prayer and cries.

St. Patrick, I beseech you,

I know that Mayra's there,

May all the saints and angels,

Keep her in your care.

Carmen Henesy

Copyright (c) Carmen Henesy

March 17, 2011

I know that St. Patrick's Day is usually a joyous day, filled with festivities, parades,

corned beef and cabbage, a bit ( ? ) of intoxication, the wearing of the green, and

Irish music and dance.  For Edith Vukasinovic, my dear friend and the stepmother of

my sons, Alex and Jeremy, it will always be one of the most tragic days of her life. 

It is the day her first born was killed in El Salvador, as she went to the grocery,

prior to a beach outing with her family.  This St. Patrick's Day is the 10th anniversary

of Mayra's death, an especially sad anniversary.

Since I was going to be gone much of the day ( off to UCSC Dermatology to get my

stitches removed ) and wanting to be with my youngest son tonight as he prepares to

move away from home, we decided to celebrate St. Patrick's Day together with

breakfast at a well known Irish pub in Millbrae, California.  We called and were told

that, because it was St. Paddy's Day, it would be open at 7AM, instead of their usual

8AM.  We met at 7:30AM - the only women there - but there were about thirty men

present, absorbed in some sport on Irish t.v.

Fortified with a wonderful Irish coffee  ( I think that is a great way to start the day ), I

polished off a full Irish breakfast, complete with Irish bacon, Irish sausage, black and

white pudding ( blood sausage ), eggs, beans, toast and potatoes while Edith had

scrambled eggs and corned beef.  I could barely waddle out of the place when we

were done. 

Edith will be meeting another friend this evening at an English pub for dinner!  I hope,

though, of course, she will have moments of sadness on this terrible anniversary, she

knows that her friends cherish her and hold her close.  I never knew Mayra but she

must have been a lovely daughter.  She has one terrific mother.

Rest in Peace, Mayra!

Erin Go Bragh

Sign - Fiddler's Green, popular Irish pub, Millbrae, CA

Edith Vukasinovic

Beer selection

Bar at Fiddler's Green

Cheers from Edith

Cheers from Carmen - with steristrips on my nose!

Edith's corned beef and scrambled egg

My full English breakfast

Starving friends!

I am participating in Jenny Matlock's Alphabe Thursday  - check out the site and join in the fun!