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My grandmother immigrated to America from Kilkee, county Clare, Ireland. I always wanted to learn more about her life there, but she spoke very little of it. It seems she decided to just let go of hungry Ireland and cast her lot in her new country.
Because of family struggles she had to return to Ireland, but was able to return to the land she now loved and fully embraced. My grandmother loved patriotic poems. I offer an excerpt from her favorite; America For Me, by Henry VanDyke—which had special meaning:
”So it’s home again and home again, America for me/My heart is turning home again and there I long to be/In the land of youth and freedom beyond the ocean bars/where the air is full of sunlight and the flag is full of stars.”
God bless our country on its 248th birthday.
Thanks Marjorie, the immigrant story is one familiar to many of us. I find it fascinating to think about where many of us would be if their forebears hadn’t had the courage to sail the pond! Happy 4th.
They did endure a perilous journey. Their courage and fortitude is the reason we are made of strong stuff.
🫡
I salute you too,Dan and wish you a Happy 4th of July.
Thanks for your thoughts, Marjorie. I’m glad your grandmother made the trip a second time.
Part of my daughter’s earliest education was memorization of poems and other short pieces of literature. At 10, she could give a rousing recitation of Longfellow’s “O Ship of State.”
We may not always match the ideal of poems such as those, but that’s not a reason to let cynicism keep us from trying.
We all need ideals to strive for. Thanks for your humanitarian contributions to Humble Dollar, Ed. I strive for the quality of your diplomacy.