Irish-ness

I've been thinking about my post about my trauma with toothpain, and realized that I had referenced a line (without citing the source) from a great movie, "The Departed," which won the Oscar for Best Picture this year.

Colin (Matt Damon), speaking to his girlfriend: "If we're not gonna make it, it's gotta be you that gets out, cause I'm not capable. I'm f--- Irish, I'll deal with something being wrong for the rest of my life."

Man, how true is that. One of the things that was really great about "The Departed" was the accurate depiction of the Irish. (One of the ways that's done is the amount of profanity; IMBD says that the f-word is used 237 times!) The Irish are long-suffering; we put up with stuff. And we can do it for our entire lives.

In some ways, it's really good. Our marriages tend to last longer, since we're willing and able to put up with not-so-great situations and the bad spells that torment every marriage. Sometimes you just gotta wait those bad times out. Most Irish are also Catholic, who believe that marriage is forever, so we put up with it for a long time. We're loyal and committed. "The Departed" depicts that well, too.

Of course, this tendency is also not so great. For me last week, it meant that I went through more pain than I needed to before I got medical treatment. My mother probably stayed in her marriage longer than she should have. Of course, the marvelous book "Angela's Ashes" comes to mind. That family's poverty was pointless at times. Irish long-suffering causes all kinds of needless suffering.

Anyway, if you haven't had the pleasure of seeing this marvelous movie, I highly recommend it.