tizzwazz...excuse me for a moment...currently adding that to my list of new favorite words...

AJ takes on MO'D. Gotta love it. Dubai or China? What a travel option.

Your spelling out of "H-A-double-R-Eye" got me laughing. But don't mock too much. I used to play that on the piano for family sing-alongs and my mom, the nee Mahoney, loved it.

Your reference to "the water really is wide..." made me think of Pat Conroy. Intentional? Or am I reading into it? (Entirely different "ponds," of course.)

Now I respectfully request that you omit "freak" from your description of "freak cop-lady" from Fargo. Cop-lady is ok, but she was nearly the only sane one in the bunch, not freakish. (Besides, I'm nuts about McDormand, and the Coen brothers, for that matter.) As for the accent...I suspect that's the only source Palin consulted before launching her RALLIES.

(Hey, congrats on your daughter's upcoming nuptials! How's that incipient hangover going after the "tasting"? And aren't you happy that your daughter found a good guy? That's sweet. And I mean that in the current colloquial sense, not the sappy ol' sentimental sense, though I'm prone to that, too. Anyway, I'm impressed with the fluent Arabic! I have only mastered un poquito Espanol, with a dab of French, Italian, German, but no fluency in other than English, regional accents available.)

Warning & abject apology @everybody else (unless MO'D wants to chime in, that could be interesting): This is TOTALLY OFF-TOPIC so just scroll down...sorry, I really just wanted to reply...

I never met an actual Harrigan! Great story. I feel quite sure I would have liked him as my barkeep. My mom got a "wish come true" when she and my dad visited me in NYC just in time for the St. Paddy's Day parade. I encountered crowds on a daily basis back then, didn't feel the need to exacerbate the situation, but ok, mom, we'll go. When the "sea of blue" (the NYPD) came on the parade route, my exuberant mother started yelling out to them: "Are you all Irish?" (My dad, bless his soul, was smiling, and his weren't Irish eyes, he just loved her.) She was ignored for the most part by the uniformed paraders, but then one kind soul yelled back at her: "Today we are!!!" That one guy in the crowd gave her (and us) a small yet significant memory. Only accented by the waiter at the Irish pub we went to afterwards, who packaged up a bundle of soda and other breads...on the house...for my mom to take "home" because she raved about the breads...oh, in the woulda-coulda category of life, I would love to have taken my mom to Ireland.

I'm rather gratified that I did tap into your "the water is wide" comment. "Lords of Discipline." Yes. Know of that. How about "The Great Santini?" I knew nothing about "Carrickfergus" but I will be checking that out. Thanks for "learnin' me."

I do believe what you said about your "freak cop" comment. And it's OK by me (ya betcha) to think McDormand's "hot." She slays me (in the best way) whenever I see her. But in Fargo terms, let's now head on down to a Furr's Cafeteria to load up our trays!

Your "kid" sounds...way cool. Glad you could be with the -ex and her in a good setting, with ease and recognition of all that's well. I could go on with tales about that and of the adopted Chinese little sister, but I know I have overstayed my O.T. time on this thread.

Maybe I can go back on topic in some way...I'd head to Mexico if McSHAME and MsSHAMEFUL win. It's warmer there than in Canada. My bones don't like the cold. And for a final note, no, your "tizzwazz" does not sound like "fatwa," not in my dictionary anyway. For several years, I had a dear-to-me Jewish boss who would use Yiddish words/phrases frequently and when I asked what they meant, he'd say: "Just like it sounds." Tizzwazz. I haven't "defined" it yet, and wouldn't end up with this, but it seems something more akin to "panties in a wad" (which must be tended to).

Using "Americanese" here...gotcha. Sorry, I'm just one of those bastard "Irish-Americans" who couldn't resist chiding you onwards.

Based on your POV, maybe I needn't mull or fret anymore over the wish that I could have taken my mother (or afforded to fly my father and mother earlier, before he died) to visit Ireland. I didn't know we weren't welcomed. Then again, I have to remember that you don't represent all of Ireland. Far from it, in fact, based on many other PsOVs.

You say: "Americans seem to have a very simplistic view of life which does not allow for the fact that racism is not necessarily based on skin colour..." Well, now, then, there, now. "Americans"? As in ALL "Americans"? Hmmmm, don't recall ever having that simplistic view myself.

By the way, you spelled my username wrong. But that's OK. I like the word "hobnobbing." I like old words. And I like cats (even moreso via T.S. Eliot).

Several people who live in Alaska, or know Alaska well, have contributed much to this thread. Thanks for lending your knowledge and personal perspective.

And to the author, Nick Jans, great piece.

Thanks for the "heads up" re: RealityChex. Glad this article made it there, and it looks like a site to check out regularly.

I tried, but can't resist the LOL from your post.

I guess my evil twin has taken over (tends to happen when MoD emerges)...so should I recite you some Chaucer? I'm sure there must be something in the Canterbury Tales that relates to bears.