Of Writers and Runners
Celebrating St. Patrick’s Day reminds me of traditions that go beyond green beer, shamrocks and parades.
Being a writer, I can’t think of this time-honored day without paying homage to the traditional Irish storyteller known as seanchai (pronounced shan-a-khee). The seanchai was someone held in high esteem who preserved Gaelic folklore and Irish history through storytelling. The tradition goes back some 2,000 years.
Inviting a seanchai into a home for an evening or two of storytelling was considered a privilege. Prelude to a lengthy story might include a meal and a shot or two of Irish whiskey.
I can just imagine the wide-eyed child or curious adult taken in by these tales, committing as much to memory as possible to relate segments of what they’d heard.
Shamrock Shuffle gets the blood flowing
St. Patrick’s Day also reminds me that I’ve got a race to run. I’ve been running through the streets of downtown St. Louis for the past 30-plus years. This year I intend to run the same race plus the one in Chicago two weeks later.
Running has helped me past writer’s block on more than one occasion. It gets the blood flowing through head, heart and soul. Erin go Bragh!
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