Like most people I enjoy the company & loving embrace of my family and the times spent with my closest and dearest friends. The Irish have a specific word for what I’m talking about here and that word is ‘craic’, pronounced simply as ‘crack’.  It means simply having fun enjoying each others company. The pronunciation and the spelling I’m told is most probably due to the basic Irish alphabet having just 18 letters. One of the letters missing in the Irish alphabet is ‘k’, which is the final letter in ‘crack’, and, as a result, it was Gaelicised as ‘craic’.

Having a “craic” is traditionally used to express the idea of ‘having a good time’ or ‘having a laugh.’ Poems, stories and songs have been written with the notion or mention of the craic. When I think of the times I enjoy the most they involve recounting the past with funny stories about life, ourselves, our friends and our families that make us laugh.  Telling stories leaves a legacy, and a story well told is priceless. Often stories are self deprecating being modest about or critical of oneself especially in a humorous way. Here is a short example of a story I’d share at a craic….

Time and Retirement
Now that I am retired, I really have no need for a calendar or a watch which seems like a good problem to have you might be thinking. The problem is that the rest of the world still runs on dates, times and schedules. The other day I was at the local pool swimming laps until I was approached by the life guard on duty. She informed me that a Seniors Water Aerobics (AKA..Senior Soup Session) class was ready to begin and that I’d have to end my workout and get out of the pool….

Really, OK? …. I confess, I suffer from a syndrome where my neutral expression makes me look like a serial killer. But if looks could kill…..I would have been a weapon of mass destruction….
I was so sure, I had another 2 hours of lap swimming time left … but, I got out begrudgingly any way.

For someone who is supposed to be so carefree about time these days it really kind of got to me …..
I stopped to talk (and bitch) to my friend Patricia the admissions administrator on the way out the door.
She rules to roost at the “Y” and her station at the front desk is the circle of influence much like a sidebar on the Supreme Court.

Me: Excuse me Pat… Can I ask you a question?
Pat: Sure Don, how can I help you?
Me: Isn’t lap pool swim time from 9:00 to 1:00 on Fridays?
Pat: Yup….You are Absolutely Correct!
Me: Well (looking at my watch indignantly) isn’t it 11:00 now?
Pat: Yes it is….Correct Again!
Me: Well then (asking righteously) Please can you tell me…Why in heaven’s name did I have to get out of the pool for a Senior Water Aerobics class with two hours to go? 
Pat: Well (sporting a sympathetic yet supportive smile) ...Because, today is Saturday not Friday..DON
Me: Well, then if I wasn’t so stupid, I guess I would have figured that out wouldn’t I?
Pat: Well then, You are Correct Once Again…. Don
Me: Thanks Pat… I’m sure that only the two of us and not the guys will hear about this conversation right?
Pat: And again unfortunately, for the Second Time Today you’d be Wrong there…Don.
Me: Oh, I guess I deserved that one!  Thanks Pat..
Pat: Again your are Correct! (Smiling broadly) Its been totally my pleasure Don… let me know if I can answer any more questions for you…. and enjoy the rest of your SATURDAY….

In the end what we know for sure is, when we are absolutely sure we are right about something,
our mind and our eyes can play tricks on us…. but the heart and Patricia will always tell us the truth….