Kiss Me, I’m Irish
Hey folks,
I have a button that says “Kiss me, I’m Irish!” It only works about 50% of the time. I’ll take those odds… because “truth be told”, I’m only 50% Irish. I haven’t sent to my DNA off to Ancestry.com to find out the exact percentage, so you’ll just to take my word for it, but remember Irish folk like to tell fibs. Perhaps, that’s a stereotype, but today is all about celebrating a stereotype; we wear green, we drink a lot, and set our Spotify accounts to play the Dubliners.
On St. Patrick’s Day everybody is just a wee bit Irish. In fact, I would guess that 90% of revelers today celebrating the patron saint of the Emerald Isle, are in fact not Irish at all. How do you spot the real Irish from the fakes? The old man in the corner, wearing an old wool jacket and sipping a Guinness, while he gently taps his toes and smiles ever so slightly, is indeed Irish.
The blonde 20-something with shamrock-shaped flashing sunglasses — drinking an extra hoppy locally brewed IPA and dancing wildly to the bagpipe player — is not. But in all likelihood, she will take a selfie with the man in the kilt and use a really cool leprechaun snapchat filter to fool her friends into thinking she is…
Monday, March 13: Service Above Self
In preparation for my upcoming year as Midlothian Rotary President, I’ve been a busy boy. On Monday, I was able to grab lunch with my friend and fellow Rotarian Andy Foldenauer. Andy is a first Vice President with RBC Wealth Management and will be relieving me of my leadership duties in June of 2018, as he takes over as Club President. #CountingDownTheDays Andy’s name may be familiar to you, as he is a regular radio contributor to the Virginia Stock Report and Monday Morning Business Report on WCVE 88.9 FM, heard by tens of people. #JustKidding
On Monday night, “Service Above Self” continued at my church council meeting… which was booked at the same time as my monthly Rotary board meeting. #HardToBeIn2PlacesAtOnce
And for those of you who have asked for an update about how my piano lessons are going, I’ll just say, “not well.” #ImTerrible
Tuesday, March 14: Wine & Whiskey
Speaking of double-booked, I was unable to join the rest of the Madison+Main-iacs at New Kent Winery Tuesday afternoon, because I had a meeting at McCormick’s Whiskey Grill with my friend Haider Sharifi and his colleague, John Hopper, from Equity Concepts. The team reported back that they really enjoyed their wine time at New Kent, and I can report that I did not partake in a $325 shot of 23-year-old Pappy Van Winkle, but opted for the $15 shot of Jefferson.
Wednesday, March 15: On Wednesdays We Wear Pink
Thursday, March 16: Winning & Losing
My beloved VCU Rams tried their best to defeat a talented St. Mary’s team and an untalented officiating crew last night, in what I’m calling “The Mistake at Salt Lake.” My heart is broken, and so is my bracket.
Meanwhile, 3,000 miles away in New York City, our campaign for Virginia Energy Sense won an Honorable Mention at the prestigious PRWeek US Awards. Congrats to some great clients at Virginia Energy Sense, and to our partners at Alliance Group and Burson-Marsteller!
Friday, March 17: Opening Doors
This morning we had a great meeting with our clients at the Virginia, Maryland, and Delaware Association of Electric Cooperatives (VMDAEC, for short), and we are very excited about the work that lies ahead for the organization which produces Cooperative Living Magazine. Did you know that each edition of Cooperative Living reaches more than 1.2 million readers? Check out their Facebook page for great hometown news stories and some really cool recipes.
This afternoon, we opened our doors to VCU Ad Club students, who wanted a tour of Madison+Main’s worldwide headquarters. They were nice, they smiled, and I guess they had nothing better to do on St. Patrick’s Day.
On Monday, our good friends at Sycamore Vet will be opening the doors to their brand new hospital, one block away from their current location. The new hospital is located at 13217 Midlothian Turnpike. More details available at SycamoreVet.net.
“All the world’s a stage and most of us are desperately unrehearsed.”
– Sean O’ Casey