Grandpa Saw Green

'Tis St. Patrick's Day and I find myself thinking about my grandfather, who may have had a touch of blarney in him!  Although I understand that his ancestors came from England, Grandpa liked to say that he had some Irish in him, as well.  Grandpa had a keen wit and a twinkle in his eye, so I never knew if he really meant it about his Irish heritage or if it was just his way of being a wee bit of a leprechaun and having fun with me.  I read that 34 million Americans claimed on the 2003 census to have had Irish ancestry -- nearly nine times Ireland's population. Every St. Patrick's Day, I think it would be nice to be Irish.  On the other days of the year, I'm content to be my usual mutt-mix of Bohemian, German, English and whatever.  I should probably do some genealogical digging, but for today, I'll wear green. I'll think about cabbage (without the corned beef, though), and I'll raise my "tankard" of water as a toast to Grandpa, who just might've been Irish after all.