Old Friends

The first time I introduced P.J. Cullinan, then in his 70's, to my wife (then girlfriend) Jennifer, he questioned her sanity and taste in men, and then suggested that they run away together. He repeated the offer nearly every time they saw each other. Every year when I saw P.J. at Irish Fest, I'd tell him in mock anger that I'd left explicit instructions at the gate not to let him in. I asked him a year or two ago at a Celtic Fringe meeting how his wife Mollie was doing and he told me that she was feeling better, thanks, though her eye sight was failing, but maybe that wasn't such a bad thing because that meant she'd have a harder time chasing him. I told him that the upside for Mollie was that at least she didn't have to see his face clearly any more. Whenever we'd have one of these run ins, which was every time I saw him, he'd laugh that big laugh of his, with his Clare accent still as thick as it must have been when he arrived here 58 years ago, and he'd brighten my day considerably. There won't be another one like him and Irish Fest will be a little less enjoyable for me this year for his absence. 

I first met P.J. Cullinan at the Brookside Irish Fest many years ago where we both worked as volunteers. And I'll tell you, of all the things I love about being part of the Kansas City Irish Fest, what I love best are the friendships I've made as a direct result of my involvement. More than the music, more than the dance, more than the heritage and history and yes, even more than the free beer at our meetings, though that's a close second. The people that I count as some of my dearest friends in the world came into my life when they came into the Irish Fest family. In a few more years, my term on the board will end and my involvement with the Fest will lessen. None of us can or should keep doing this forever, One of these days soon my Irish Fest weekend will involve nothing more taxing than sitting in the sponsor area with a cold beer in hand and telling anybody who'll listen how much better we did things back in my day. But I know when that day comes,  I'll still have these friendships born within the gates of the Kansas City Irish Fest.

Honestly, that's a big reason why I hound all of you about volunteering. Yes, it's also simply because we need a lot of volunteers and the more work you do, the less I have to do. Mrs. Regan raised no fools. But beyond that, it's because I want everybody to understand what a great thing we have going on here. I want everybody to know how great it is, what a gas it is, how ridiculously fun it is to be part of putting this event on every year.

We lost a great Irish Fest volunteer this week when P.J. died. It'll take about a hundred more to even come close to replacing him, even if he was 85. So if you think you can spare 4 hours over Irish Fest weekend, please join us. You'll have fun. You'll be part of a great group and a great event. You might even make a life long friend.