Limestone deposits are an issue here in the west of Ireland. Our hot water kettle was looking pretty grim and I was in search of a solution. Specifically I was on a quest for these small stainless steel plugs that live in the kettle, loosening and collecting the limestone when the water boils. They work brilliantly. I had been to a few local stores with no luck when I wandered into Burke Hardware. The very elder Mr. Burke had them in stock. I was glad to finally find them and our conversation went like this.

Me: You are fabulous.
Mr. Burke: Now, no one has ever said that about me before.
Me, laughing: Well, if that’s true there is something very wrong with the world.
Mr. Burke: Well, at the moment there is something very wrong with the world.

At this point he looked at me carefully. Something I encounter all the time. Sussing out where I stand with the political disaster in our country. 

Me: Oh, yes. We are in deep trouble in the States. It’s just horrific.
Mr. Burke: Well now, over here we shoot them fellas.

Burke’s Law. Not the more restorative justice law of the Brehons. But there was a time when the English honored no law. When they honored neither the Irish people nor their culture. There was a time when this would have been true. And Mr. Burke remembers that time.

Beannacht,
Judith – judith@stonefires.com

Note: I would love to hear from you about this or any other post. Due to hacking and spamming I’ve had to turn off the more automatic response for these posts.