A very successful St. Patrick’s Day at Murphy’s. Over 350 pounds of the olde corned beef sold and sales ‘well’ up over last year. We actually ran out of CB & C at 9.07 EST. What recession. Thank you to all of you loyal patrons.

The curious thing about us Americans (became a citizen in 1986—former Kiwi) is that spending is DNA driven or an acquired attribute if one is naturalized. I sense that America is dying to bust out of this prolonged economic condition because they are compelled to start spending out of their short term spell of not spending. Spending just plain old makes you feel better……and of course up in these cold parts…..so does SPRING……Come on spring. Where fore art thou!?

The baby steps for bigger spending are rooted in restaurants and less expensive venues like sporting events. The new golf clubs and current hi def flat screens and cars will follow. So I encourage you all. Get out . . . spend a little on yourself and your families and friends . . . and help get the good olde US of A churning again. We owe it to our global rank!!

And about those 350 succulent pounds we rendered . . . Corned Beef and Cabbage is basically an American tradition on St. Patrick’s Day started by Irish-Americans in the mid 1800′s. Some Irish people feel that corned beef and cabbage is about as Irish as spaghetti and meatballs.

Since cows were used for milk rather than meat in poor times in Ireland, beef was a delicacy that was fed to kings. It was more common to celebrate a holiday meal with what they call a ham (Gammon) or bacon joint (a cured but unsmoked piece of pork) with their cabbage and potatoes. When many Irish Immigrants came over in the mid 1800’s they couldn’t find a bacon joint like they had in Ireland, so they found that Jewish corned beef was very similar in texture, and they used that for their holiday celebrations.