La Dolce Vita, Irish Style

On Easter Sunday, the Italian opera singer Andrea Bocelli sang several religious blockbusters in front of the deserted Duomo Cathedral in Milan. This is the best we do until the Covid-19 Virus passes over. Many people won't return to normal till there's a vaccine.

The Bocelli video reminded me of one of my favorite travel memories. We had gone to Ireland with three other couples and were staying in the fine little town of Dingle in County Kerry on the west coast. Late one evening as the pubs were closing, we were walking back to our lodgings. Our friend Mitch had just discovered a whiskey called Mitchell's.

He felt the whiskey was named after him. We all sampled it at the pub and Mitch bought the remainder of the bottle which he now cradled under his arm. (This story is not about Mitch breaking the bottle, so don't worry about that.) It was uphill all the way from the pub to our lodgings and as we reached the big church, Mitch decided to take a break on the church steps. He stretched out on the broad steps and, propping himself on his elbow, started to sing.

Mitch is a fine singer and the acoustics were great. His first songs were from the classics, but in the second half of his program, he switched to show tunes. I particularly remeber "O, What a Beautiful Morning." Not that Mitch needed it, I started directing him. I had no podium so I was able to move around the steps, quite exuberantly. It was a night to get carried away.

People leaving the pubs stopped to listen. Second floor windows went up. There was general applause when Mitch returned to his feet. The next day I was in the pub across from the church. It's called Dick Mack's. The pub, not the church. "One of the denizens there said. "We saw you by the church last night."
   "Oh-oh." I was about to crawl into the snug.
   "No, it was great," he said, and he bought me a pint. To be sure, there's no greater compliment in Ireland.

Listen to the music.