Happy Belated St. Patrick's Day!

Anyone who knows me knows I love all things Highland. I also have a fondness for the beauty of Ireland. It seems like God was in an amazingly good mood when he was making that whole Scottish and Irish area. The lush green hills and beautiful mountains, everything about the entire area is mysterious, melancholy and ultimately beautiful. Don't even get me started on the castles. I could spend months and months just touring the castles and be perfectly, wonderfully happy.


Even their heathen rituals and Celtic gods and whatnot are fascinating. Compare, if you will, the festivals of harvest and plenty they have in those places as opposed to the grotesque celebrations (for the exact same things, mind you) of the native Indians of South America. Between ritualistic sacrifice, barbaric music, dances and customs, I don't know exactly how much beauty (not the kind that's in the eye of the beholder), but real dictionary beauty there is to be seen there. I agree that the ruins must be fascinating and the old landmarks amazing, but that's about it.


The Celtic folk music is amazing. I love it. I really do. It's like it hypnotizes me. The combination of notes and instruments, the melodies and dances all take my breath away.


In my humble opinion, a country so blessed with all those things plus - let us not be remiss in forgetting - whiskey and beer, should technically have some really good food as well. I don't really feel that's the case. I could be wrong in assuming that everything they eat is either boiled tastelessly together or cooked in organs, but that's the idea they give me.


During St. Patrick's Day celebrations everyone makes something I find truly heinous: corned beef. It's made with cabbage a lot (ew), I see it in stews and sandwiches and in everything imaginable. But I'm not singling out the Irish here. The Scottish (my people) have some serious issues when it comes to good dining. Haggis is their idea of a happy place, and steak and kidney pie is their hallelujah.


Perhaps when one visits Ireland and Scotland one can live on the view and people alone (and let us not forget all the whiskey our alcoholic hearts could desire), so actual physical sustenance may not be necessary.


I think the point I'm trying to make with my exceedingly long-winded rant is that Irish and Scottish food is yucky.