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[Tony Hardie-Bick]

Hey Niall, Happy Birthday from THB.

Sounds like the rain and pain are all gain in the writer's craft. Hope it 
doesn't stop (the writing).

Tony (HB) (again)

Niall Munnelly wrote:
> Today was my first birthday in Ireland since I was four.
> For my birthday, I got pleurisy, or something.
> 
> It's never freezing in Kerry like it is in New York, Chicago
> or, presumably, Goteborg, but the relentless rain keeps you
> cold and damp all day.  The cuffs of your pants, shoes and
> coats never really dry, and there's a clammy chill on the
> back of your unprotected neck to send you running back
> inside to start a fire and drink gallons of tea.  Taking the
> dogs down to the wind-whipped beach takes twenty minutes'
> preparation, looking for scarves, hats, anything to keep the
> ocean spray and roaring rain from soaking your skin.
> 
> So, I'm chuffed for the hand-me-up from my Kid Brother, a
> pair of steel toed Docs a size too large for him, and the
> hot ports he made for me when he visited.  Herself scored
> two bottles of Porterhouse Brewing's Celebration Stout,
> which I thought I'd never get to try {it's not as good as
> the many outstanding double stouts brewed in the US, but
> it's definitely the best Irish beer I've had}.
> 
> Maybe the best thing I got was this {warning, Flash}:
> 
> http://www.kongcompany.com/worlds_best.html
> 
> It looks like a massive butt-plug.  My older brother bought
> these for his dogs years ago; they're spend hours trying to
> lick peanut butter out of the toy.  Ignatz, the Jack
> Russell, isn't a chewer and has no interest in what's inside
> the Kong - all he wants is for you to throw it as hard as
> you can, so he can fetch it and not give it back.  If you
> have a long tarmac drive, like I do, then it's the dog's
> bollocks.  Throw it as hard as you can, and the irregular
> shape makes the bounces nigh-impossible to predict.  After
> half an hour, you have a sore arm but the world's happiest
> dog.
> 
> Then make a hot port according to your brother's recipe, sit
> on the couch for awhile with your lady, and enjoy the
> tentative life you've created, silently thanking your Ma, until
> you start hacking like an old miner again.
> 
> Alright.