Friends, fiddles, and guiness

O'Leary's on Beacon Street in Boston is a little slice of heaven. I smile just thinking about it. Last night a group of friends went to mass and then migrated to O'Leary's Irish Pub. We sat and talked and laughed and shared and smiled, a lot. We were nostalgic about the past, and sad and excited about the future since many were leaving for distant countries, or the real world, but throughout our time, continually grateful for the present. Those who ordered food were pleased with their delectible selections and those who ordered drinks were overjoyed with their choice of reward for completing a semester :-) Cellphones may be considered a technological intrusion on our evening, but when realizing they allowed new friends to come and find us and join our celebration it was truly a blessing in blue and green buzzing disguise. Wave after wave of new smiles and stories came through the door from the cold and rain outside into the warmth. A sort of musical chairs ensued as we welcomed each new person. And then there was the live music... To begin, I am a sucker for live music of any type, no matter where and when. And the fact that I felt as if I walked from the streets of Boston into a pub in Dublin was further enforced through the music. They played, without pomp and circumstance, in the corner, for themselves and each other. The rest of us were just lucky onlookers. There were men and women, and even girls, probably someone's daughter playing. And then someone sang, and everyone turned, and became silent, just to hear him. The only line that remains in my mind was "Whisky in the morning and at night", but despite it's humor, his rough accented voice, without training or grace, was the purest sound that I heard that night. It came from inside. And we couldn't help but listen and watch...

I have a list of things in my prayer journal that I hope to see in heaven... this is one of them.