This Spud's for you
With all that’s going on in the U.S. of A., those jackwads at Hasbro decided to take it out on Mr. Potato Head. Talk about a half-baked idea, bud. It’s also bad news for the Irish. We’ve been called “potato head” our whole lives, the same way you’d call a Polish guy a “kapusta head.” At least the Mr. showed some respect.
For the Irish, this brings back memories of the Great Potato Famine which got us sailing across the broad Atlantic. The way Buck Norman tells it, the snakes ate all the potatoes and then it took St. Patrick with his big shillelagh to drive the snakes out.
When you think of it, why do they have to call us Potato Head when we’ve already got such great nicknames? I’m thinking of Baboon Sheehan, Harry “The Hat” Ford, Moon O’Brien, Bucko Fitzgerald, Bandit Kane, Jelly Donuts Foley, Gin Bottle O’Connell, Ragbag Murphy, Happy Houlihan, Heavy Legs Garvey and Cannonball Kennedy among many others.
In the old days, the signs on the main entrance doors to Mass Mutual sign said, “Irish Need Not Apply.” They still hang it up when I go over there. How about the joke, “What’s an Irish seven course dinner? A six pack of beer and a potato.” Recently it was reported that a British Holiday Resort company has been preventing people with Irish surnames like O’Brien from booking vacations with them this year.
At the end of the day, you can say whatever you want about the Irish. We’ll get by with a story and a sense of humor. Keep your dukes up.