It is Saint Patricks Day. All you crazy people out there are dressing up silly and drinking beer I am sure. Okay I admit i dress up silly but since i don't believe in drinking the beer would end up in bread. But say..do you realize that we are profiling Irishmen and women as drunken partiers here? I mean was is it one day a year everyone decides that they want to be Irish, dress funny and drink till they are drunk? That always bothered me. Never mind that St Patrick didn't chase out the snakes from Ireland, he tossed out the Witches...you know like me? Well how about a fun and odd little flash fiction I wrote? It was too long for a friends till contest so here goes.
A Leprechauns lament
By Lisa Williamson
He sat on his stool grumbling into his beer. I listened and finally I just had to ask him
what was wrong? He turned to me, his
emerald eyes flashing in a face filled more with character than looks.
“What’s wrong you askin?”
His voice was rough and held a burr that was all too familiar on a day
like today. “Well let me tell you. Profiling!
Racial Profiling is what is wrong!”
He snorted and banged down his beer, the golden fluid
sloshing over the top to splash and puddle on the scarred wood of the
table. I eased into the chair across
from him and tilted me head, my best ‘tell me about it’ look on my face.
He looked at me, more a glare but he continued. “Every year they all decide to dress up in
green and start kissing everyone in sight.
Wish the luck O’ Irish at you and talk about Lucky Charms of all
tings.” He grumbled louder as a pair of
drunk college students looked like they wanted to do just that. “Its demeaning it is!”
I hid my smile and nodded.
I did understand after all. In
these modern days, political correctness was all over but no one thought a
thing about what they said on St Patty’s day.
He lifted a bushy red brow and then he touched his nose and tried to
hide a smile. “But you know about it
don’t ya, lassie?”
See like my friend here, I am a wee bit on the short
side. It is more obvious on Timothy
here but you know what? Leprechauns
have rights too. We aren’t cute, we
aren’t funny and no, we don’t have a pot of gold for you grubby strangers. Go have your St Patty’s day beer somewhere
else. Timothy and I will share our beer
here and just you see, the Bunny will take your attention soon enough!
Happy Saint Patricks day everyone.
