A STATESIDE STORY: TRAVEL WARNINGS QUASHING ST. PATRICK’S DAY CELEBRATIONS

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by Mary Foran

I’ve never been to Ireland, but I would love to go as my Spanish niece did to research our family history and see the countryside.

Fears of the coronavirus spreading around the world has stymied the travel industry and made jaunts like that unlikely.

Gathering in pubs and crowded places like basketball games and conventions and churches has become difficult in some respects as people wonder if they should be wearing masks all the time like the Chinese are wont to do.

Signs have been posted outside business establishments warning people not to enter if they have recently traveled to infected countries.

Well, St. Patrick Day celebrations have not yet been canceled completely, but the average person is hesitating to join in the fun.

If you head for the grocery stores, you will find a shortage of hand sanitizer and antiseptic wipes, as well as toilet paper and “Kleenex” tissues.

The last thing one would want to do is to spread the virus more, so catching sneezes and washing hands with soap and water is the least one can do.

My spring allergies are acting up, so I keep wondering if I have a cold, although I made sure to get the flu shot this year.

But since ‘tis the season, I plan on celebrating my Irish roots with a nice dark Guinness beer.

I think that Aer Lingus should test passengers for the virus BEFORE they get on the plane, just to be on the safe side and save Ireland’s health.

“No Man is an island, no man stands alone; each man’s joy is joy to me, each man’s grief is my own.
We need one another, so I will defend, each man as my brother, each man as my friend.”

Here’s to the Irish!

Images
Featured image (Guidepost’s collage): Aer Lingus/Colin Brown Photography, CC BY2.0; St. Patrick’s Day reveler/Steve Hardy, CC BY2.0; Chinese wearing face masks/Studio Incendo-DSCF2199, CC BY2.0, cropped
Guinness beer/Peter Magera, CC BY2.0
St. Patrick’s Day souvenir card/Bluebells 2008, CC BY2.0