Togo Goes to Ireland
Just yesterday, Daddy told me that two of his friends were going to Ireland to visit a college. He kept talking about how great it would be to visit Ireland. I couldn’t sleep after all of that. So, using some old frequent flier miles I’d saved up, I booked a stand-by seat and was soon winging my way across the pond.
To be honest, I never saw a pond. The flight attendant told me that it was because we flew over at night. I didn’t really care because I’d seen a pond and I was there to see Ireland.
First, I thought I’d look for Krista and Serena. After walking down several streets and approaching people I thought might be Daddy’s friends, I decided perhaps I’d be better off sightseeing on my own. The Irish people have very colorful language. I couldn’t really understand what they were saying — but they said it with a lot of energy. And they have a tendency to use one or two words over and over again. Daddy says that those are Irish words and that I should never, ever use them in my stories.
I did find this entrance to what I thought was the headquarters of the Guinness Book of World Records. I figured they must have a pretty big book, and I could get my picture made with it and impress my librarian friends back in the States. But they never opened this door except when a beer truck would roll in or out. With the amount of alcohol they were consuming, it’s no wonder that some of the things in their book are a little bizarre. They were much friendlier than some of the other locals.
I was pretty bored by all that sitting. That’s when a long motorcade come by with lots of big, black SUVs and a big, black car. I followed the parade down to some enormous government buildings, and President Biden get out of the big, black car. He must be friends with Daddy’s friends, too. Why else would he be here?
I called out to him, “Hey, President Joe!” He obviously recognized me from my Togo Goes stories and the autographed pictures of me that I sent to him. He waved right at me. I took that as an invitation and joined him on the steps for a photo op. It had to be a quick photo op because a bunch of guys in suits started chasing me. Oh, what fun we had!
I eventually ended up with a little boy who hid me in his momma’s shop while the men in suits ran by. He told me that they were Secret Service agents. That seems like an odd name for a bunch of guys all wearing the same kind of suit and yelling and talking into their shirt sleeves. Not very secret-acting, if you ask me. President Biden seemed to totally enjoy my visit. When I looked back, they were using a lint roller on him to remove the fur I had left behind. He was still waving.
The little boy turned out to be a real friend. His name was Sean. He gave me a fresh bowl of water and some authentic Irish stew. Then he told me I should see the countryside.
I found these fellows out by the ocean. They weren’t very talkative. It was a beautiful spot, though. I hung around for most of the afternoon, gave them my address if they ever decided to visit Abilene, and reluctantly started back to the airport.
It was then that I saw the most beautiful rainbow. And, remembering the stories I had heard, I tracked down a leprechaun sitting right where it touched the ground. That little fellow also used very colorful language. He may have been drinking, too. And, he may or may not have given me his pot of gold — depending on the IRS’s position on such things. I have my lawyers looking into it.
Ireland is a wonderful place to visit. But there’s no place like home. Although, a little Irish stew would be nice every once in a while.
Madra is Gaelic for dog. :)