West Side Storytellers Stories from the Heart of Arizona

March 2016 Volume 15, Issue 3

T he only things remotely Irish in my world right now are the tiny shamrocks growing along the garden wall at the edge of the driveway at Lon’s house. It is deep, cool shade there because his house faces north and these tiny harbingers of spring wink up in their festive greenness from under an evergreen bush, lighting up the shady corner. I wonder where they go when it is hot? It must be a leprechaun-like magic, or something like the tale of Brigadoon—remember the tale of the Scottish village that ap-pears only one day every hundred years? In the end the story is about miracles, and I suppose those tiny shamrocks are miracles too. The simple things usually are. My Mom was one of twelve children, she had ten brothers and one sister. I recently met two of those uncles for lunch when one of the Nebraska uncles came out to Arizona for a visit. Their wives and the wives of the uncles no longer living came along too, and I was delighted to visit with two of my cousins that day. When we were growing up, it was always wonderful pandemo-nium at my grandparents’ house because of the gangs of kids running in and out. We never knew that we didn’t have much money. It never crossed our minds because we were rich in the things that mattered - lots of love to go around. I was talking to Aunt Nancy that day and the conversation turned to kids. It is the legacy of our family’s culture to love and cherish the chil-dren, and to take joy in their innocence and to love the refreshing honesty and hilarity that kids offer up in a weary world. I re-member after my grandfather died, my grandmother was under-standably undone. But the thing that worked the miracle was that one of my uncle’s wives had a baby, and they put that baby in my grandmother’s arms and she started to come back . . . These days miracles come in all kinds of guises, and even a good cup of coffee and time to enjoy it is a miracle. I am eter-nally grateful for my family and friends, and as one of my best friends has said, we are all millionaires if we count each friend as a million dollars. I certainly count them as miracles! This issue of the West Side Storytellers news is a little bit of this and that—Irish tales, a story on the tiniest park which in-spired inclusion of some coffee lore, a tiny Aesop’s fable, and a recipe for Irish Coffee. I hope you enjoy! ah

The Salmon of Knowledge (an Irish Legend) (from Tell Me A Story, by Amy Friedman and Meredith Johnson)

Long ago King Cormac ruled Ireland. He was a good ruler, and exceedingly gener-ous. In fact he was too giving. Nearly every day he invited people to the castle where he provided feasts and festivals. The wine flowed, and everyone sang and danced. Cormac delighted in the bounty of his cas-tle. But inevitably he ran out of money to pay for these fetes. And so, worried about how to supply the bounty he had grown accus-tomed to, he began to look around at the lands surrounding his own. In those days the King of Munster owned rich pasture lands on the banks of the Suir River, and King Cormac began to eye them greedily. At last, nearly out of money, he decided he would go to war to win those lands for his own kingdom. There he could feed herds of sheep and cattle, and he would have plenty of meat. But the King of Munster had a strong army, and he loved his fields and vowed to defend them with all his strength and power. When Cormac heard tales of this fierce army, he sought the wis-dom of a Druid. He wished to know what the future might bring. He wanted to know what he would have to do to defeat such a great army, and if he had any hope of doing so. The Druid listened and told the king of one way he might defeat any army, becoming the most powerful man in the world: In one of the rivers running underground in the western land known as Mayo, there swam a magical salmon. "Catch this fish and eat him," the Druid told Cormac, "and you will possess all the wisdom, strength and good fortune you could ever wish. The moment you taste this fish, you will have success in every ven-ture. You will be admired and loved by everyone, everywhere." Naturally Cormac set out at once on an excursion to catch that magical salmon. He and his men reached the banks of the river of the fertile valley and, just as the Druid had said, the val-ley led to a secret cavern -- one that vanished long ago. In that quiet, shady cavern, Cormac and his men found a deep, cold pool swarming with wild salmon that swam and danced over the whirlpools. This was the place, Cormac understood, where he would find the Salmon of Knowledge. But there were thousands of salmon swimming there, and the Druid did not know how to recognize the special one. So Cormac and the Druid began to fish, cooking each one over the fire. They tasted each and every one. But Cormac remained just as he had always been -- a pleasant fellow, but no wiser, no more powerful. Before long he was tired of eating fish. "I long for meat," he complained. "Surely there must be a way to select the Salmon of Knowledge from among all these?" Continued on page 7

May you always be blessed with walls for the wind. A roof for the rain. A warm cup of tea by the fire. Laughter to cheer you. Those you love near you. And all that your heart might desire. Irish Blessing

As one critic put it, the limerick “is the vehicle of cultivated, unrepressed sexual humor in the English language.” But while some experts claim that the only “real” limerick is an obscene or bawdy one, the form really took off initially, in terms of popularity, as a vehicle for nonsense verse and chil-dren’s poems, such as the Mother Goose nursery rhymes, first published in 1744 as Tom Thumb’s Pretty Songbook.

Hickory dickory dock, The mouse ran up the clock;

The clock struck one The mouse ran down;

Hickory dickory dock.

The Storyteller’s Kitchen March 2016

My grandmother called her version Mulligan Stew, and Wikipedia reveals "Mulligan" is a stand-in term for any Irishman. Mulligan stew is simply an Irish stew that includes meat, pota-toes, vegetables, and whatever else can be begged, scavenged, found or stolen. During the Great Depression, homeless men (hobos) would sleep in a jungle (campsite used by the homeless near a rail-way). Traditionally, the jungle would have a large campfire, and a pot into which each person would put in a portion of their food, eventually sharing a portion that was, hopefully, more tasteful and varied than his original portion. Usually, they would afterward en-joy themselves with story-telling and, sometimes, the drinking of alcohol. Nowadays Mulligan stew is essentially an Irish beef stew and there are recipes for it instead of its being an impromptu creation. Here is one recipe . . . I have made this recipe with ribeye steak for the meat, even leaving out the wine and the Guinness and it is still delicious. ah

1 1/4 pounds well-marbled chuck beef stew meat, cut into 1 1/2-inch chunks 3 teaspoons of salt (more to taste) 1/4 cup olive oil 6 large garlic cloves, minced 4 cups beef stock or broth 2 cups water 1 cup of Guinness extra stout 1 cup of hearty red wine 2 tablespoons tomato paste 1 tablespoon sugar 1 tablespoon dried thyme 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce 2 bay leaves 2 tablespoons butter 3 pounds russet potatoes, peeled, cut into 1/2-inch pieces (about 7 cups) 1 large onion, chopped (1 1/2 to 2 cups) 2 cups 1/2-inch pieces peeled carrots and/or parsnips (3 to 4 carrots or parsnips) 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Sprinkle about a teaspoon of salt over the beef pieces. Heat the olive oil in a large (6 to 8 quart), thick-bottomed pot over medium-high heat. Pat dry the beef with paper towels and work-ing in batches, add the beef (do not crowd the pan, or the meat will steam and not brown) and cook, without stirring, until nicely browned on one side, then use tongs to turn the pieces over and brown on another side. Add garlic to the pot with the beef and sauté 30 seconds or until fragrant. Add the beef stock, water, Guinness, red wine, tomato paste, sugar, thyme, Worcestershire sauce, and bay leaves. Stir to combine. Bring mixture to a simmer. Reduce heat to the lowest setting, then cover and cook at a bare simmer for 1 hour, stirring occasionally. While the pot of meat and stock is simmering, melt the butter in another pot over medium heat. Add the onions and carrots, sauté the until the onions are golden, about 15 minutes. Add to stew pot. After an hour add the potatoes to the beef stew. Add black pepper and two teaspoons of salt. Simmer uncovered until vege-tables and beef are very tender, about 40 minutes. Discard the bay leaves. Tilt pan and spoon off any excess fat. Transfer stew to serving bowl. Add more salt and pepper to taste. Top with chopped parsley if desired.

Shepherd’s pie is considered an Irish dish, but this offering is a spicy version made with chorizo and chiles that is certainly Not your Granny’s Shepherd’s Pie! (from the Food Network kitchens)

2 pounds russet potatoes, peeled and quartered Kosher salt 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil 8 ounces fresh chorizo, casings removed 12 ounces ground beef 1 bunch scallions (white and light green parts only), chopped 2 cups frozen corn (preferably fire-roasted) 1 pobalano chile pepper, chopped 2 tablespoons tomato paste ½ teaspoon ground cumin ½ teaspoon chili powder Freshly ground pepper 1 14.5 ounce can diced tomatoes with green chiles 1 cup low-sodium chicken broth ½ cup sour cream 3 tablespoons unsalted butter 1 ½ cups shredded pepper jack cheese (about 6 ounces) Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Put the potatoes in a large saucepan, cover with cold water by 1 inch and season with salt. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer until tender, 20 to 25 minutes. Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a large ovenproof skillet over medium heat. Add the chorizo and cook, breaking it up with a wooden spoon, until slightly browned, about 5 minutes. Add the beef and cook, breaking it up, until browned, about 5 minutes. Add all but 1 tablespoon of the scallions to the skillet along with the corn, poblano, tomato paste, cumin, chili powder, 1 teaspoon salt and a few grinds of pepper. Cook, stirring, until the vegeta-bles are slightly softened, about 5 more minutes. Add the toma-toes and chicken broth. Bring to a simmer, then reduce the heat to medium low; cook, stirring occasionally, until slightly thick-ened, about 10 minutes. Drain the potatoes and let cool slightly. Return to the pot, add the sour cream and butter and mash well. Stir in the cheese and season with salt and pepper. Dollop the mashed potatoes on top of the meat mixture in the skillet, then spread with the back of a spoon. Transfer the skillet to the oven. Bake until bubbling around the edges and the topping is browned in spots, 25 to 30 minutes. Let rest 10 minutes, then sprinkle with the reserved scallions before serving.

Original Irish Coffee (recipe courtesy of Barman Dara Cruise, Four Seasons Hotel, Dublin Ireland)

1 cup freshly brewed hot coffee 1 tablespoon brown sugar 1 jigger Irish whiskey (1 ½ ounces or 3 tablespoons) Heavy cream, slightly whipped

Fill footed mug or a coffee mug with hot water to preheat it, then empty mug. Pour piping hot coffee into warmed mug until it is about ¾ full. Add the brown sugar and stir until completely dis-solved. Blend in Irish whiskey. Top with a collar of the whipped heavy cream by pouring gently over back of a spoon. Serve hot.

When I was growing up in Britain in the 1970s, St. Patrick’s Day didn’t exist. The conflict in Northern Ireland was at its bloodiest, and it was not a time when British cities would open their civic spaces for a celebration of things Irish. My sense of what St. Patrick’s Day looked like was informed by the odd news story about celebrations in the U.S. The day appeared as some-thing that was more about Irish America than it was about Ire-land. Years later, I was in a bar in Dublin with a friend discussing Irish history topics that needed to be written about. We agreed that the most obvious Irish date in the calendar, March 17, had never been touched by scholars, and a journey thus began. For the pair of us, the following years were all about understanding pa-rades, Irishness, green beer, and corned beef and cabbage. We looked at a number of countries to try and comprehend why the Irish, perhaps above any other national group, have so success-fully exported their national day so that it’s now a global phe-nomenon. The day is now celebrated in the form of parades, par-ties, and festivals on every continent. The modest observance of St. Patrick’s Day in Ireland dates back to the 17th century, as a religious feast day that commemo-rates the death of St. Patrick in the fifth century. Patrick is cred-ited with having brought Christianity to Ireland, and as such be-came a figure of national devotion and, in due course, the na-tion’s patron saint. The day’s importance was confirmed in 1631 when it was recognized by the Vatican. For most Irish people at home, the day remained primarily religious into the 20th century. The elite of Irish society did mark the day with a grand ball in Dublin Castle each year in the second half of the 19th century. But for the public at large, it was a quiet day with no parades or public events. The day wasn’t even a pub-lic holiday in Ireland until 1904. In the 20th century, the day became a public spectacle, with a military parade running through Dublin’s streets from the 1920s to the 1950s. Right through this period, the day was rather som-ber: mass in the morning, the military parade at noon and—this will shock American readers—the bars across the country closed for the day. (Irish bars didn’t begin opening on March 17 until the mid-1960s.) The military parade was replaced by a more general parade of floats and entertainment beginning in the 1960s, which in turn was transformed, in 1996, into the St. Patrick’s Festival, which still runs to this day. It’s a four-day event of music, treas-ure hunts, performances, and of course, on the day itself, a two-hour parade that draws up to half a million people onto the streets of Dublin. To understand the day and its significance is to tell an Ameri-can rather than an Irish story. The shift in the 1960s, after all, to a parade in Dublin (and many other Irish towns and cities) that was celebratory and fun was directly inspired by what was happening in the real home of St. Patrick’s Day, the U.S. The first recorded celebrations of March 17 took place in Boston in 1737, when a group of elite Irish men came together to celebrate over dinner what they re-ferred to as “the Irish saint.” The tradition of parading began amongst Irish Catholic members of the British Army in New Continued next column

How America Invented St. Patrick’s Day (Published on Time.com) Mike Cronin is a professor at Boston College and the academic director of its program in Dublin. He is the author, with Daryl Adair, of The Wearing of the Green: A History of St. Patrick’s Day. He wrote this for What It Means to Be American, a national conversation hosted by the Smithsonian and Zocalo Public Square.

York in 1766 when the day “of St. Patrick, Saint of Ireland, was ushered in with Fifes and Drums,” as described in J.T. Ridge’s 1988 history of the New York parade. The day grew in significance following the end of the Civil War and the arrival, across the 19th century, of ever increasing numbers of Irish immigrants. Facing nativist detractors who characterized them as drunken, violent, criminalized, and dis-eased, Irish-Americans were looking for ways to display their civic pride and the strength of their identity. St. Patrick’s Day celebrations were originally focused on districts where the Irish lived and were highly localized. Through the use of symbols and speeches, Irish-Americans celebrated their Catholicism and pa-tron saint and praised the spirit of Irish nationalism in the old country, but they also stressed their patriotic belief in their new home. In essence, St. Patrick’s Day was a public declaration of a hybrid identity—a belief in the future of Ireland as a nation free from British rule, and a strict adherence to the values and liberties that the U.S. offered them. By the end of the 19th century, St. Patrick’s Day was being observed on the streets of major Irish cities such as Boston, Chi-cago, and New York, as well as in other cities such as New Or-leans, San Francisco, and Savannah. The evolution of highly localized Irish celebrations to broader public events and parades tracked the rise of Irish-Americans in local governments. In the face of growing nativist opposition, to parade down major ave-nues in city after city announced that Irish-Americans were nu-merous and powerful, and not going anywhere. The tradition of celebrating St. Patrick’s Day grew across the U.S. and became a day that was also celebrated by people with no Irish heritage. By the 20th century it was so ubiquitous that St. Patrick’s Day became a marketing bonanza: greetings cards filled drugstores, imported Irish shamrocks (indeed anything green) showed up on T-shirts, and the food and drink that became asso-ciated with the day became bar promotions. Corned beef and cabbage—rarely eaten in Ireland but commonplace in American cities as a springtime dish—became the meal for March 17. Die-tary innovations for the day have grown over the years with all types of green food, including milk shakes, beers, and candy. Once a food giant like McDonald’s latched onto the marketing potential of St. Patrick’s Day, it was clear that celebrating had jumped from a solely Irish day into the American mainstream. The power of St. Patrick’s Day in the U.S. was its ability to survive and then spread. It survived over the decades because generations of Irish immigrants were eager to celebrate their ori-gins. The sheer number of those claiming Irish descent in the U.S., coupled with their mobility and assisted by a network of Irish societies and the forces of Irish commerce (namely Guin-ness and the ubiquitous Irish bar in very town) has meant that St. Patrick’s Day celebrations have spread across the country. The holiday also spread by becoming a means for all Ameri-cans to become Irish for the day. The shared sense of being Irish, of wearing green and in some way marking March 17, has re-sulted in St. Patrick’s Day being observed in a similar fashion to July Fourth or Halloween. It’s the closest thing in America to National Immigrant Day, a tribute not only to the Irish, but to the Continued on page 4

America Invented St. Patrick’s Day, continued from page 3

idea that Americans are all part “other.” That may be why the holiday was slower to take off among the Irish diaspora in other nations around the world, where people are less comfortable with hyphenated identities. Only more recently, once it was established as a bona fide American cultural phenomenon, and again aided by such Irish cultural ambassadors as U2, Guinness, and those ubiquitous pubs, did St. Patrick’s Day become a full-fledged celebration—whose spirit was re-imported in its Americanized form back to Ireland itself. So, wherever you may be on this day, raise a glass to toast not only good old Ireland, but America’s interpretation of it as well.

Celtic Knots

Celtic knots called Icovellavna, are a variety of knots and stylized graphical representations of knots used for decoration, used exten-sively in the Celtic style of Insular art. These knots are most known for their adaptation for use in the ornamentation of Chris-tian monuments and manuscripts, such as the 8th-century St. Teilo Gospels, the Book of Kells and the Lindisfarne Gospels. Most are endless knots, and many are varieties of basket weave knots. The use of interlace patterns had its origins in the artwork of the late Roman Empire. Knot patterns first appeared in the third and fourth centuries AD and can be seen in Roman floor mosaics of that time. Interesting developments in the artis-tic use of interlaced knot patterns are found in Byzantine archi-tecture and book illumination, Coptic art, Celtic art, Islamic art, Medieval Russian book illumination, Ethiopian art, and Euro-pean architecture and book illumination. Spirals, step patterns, and key patterns are dominant motifs in Celtic art before the Christian influence on the Celts, which be-gan around 450 A.D. These designs found their way into early Christian manuscripts and artwork with the addition of depictions from life, such as animals, plants and even humans. In the begin-ning, the patterns were intricate interwoven cords, called plaits, which can also be found in other areas of Europe, such as Italy, in the 6th century. A fragment of a Gospel Book, now in the Durham Cathedral library and created in northern Britain in the 7th century, contains the earliest example of true knotted de-signs in the Celtic manner. Examples of plait work (a woven, unbroken cord design) predate knotwork designs in several cultures around the world, but the broken and reconnected plait work that is charac-teristic of true knotwork began in northern Italy and southern Gaul and spread to Ireland by the 7th century. The style is most commonly associated with the Celtic lands, but it was also prac-ticed extensively in England and was exported to Europe by Irish and Northumbrian monastic activities on the continent. J. Romilly Allen has identified "eight elementary knots which form the basis of nearly all the interlaced patterns in Celtic decorative art." In modern times Celtic art is popularly thought of in terms of national identity and therefore specifically Irish, Scottish or Welsh. from Wikipedia

Almost all of the folios of the Book of Kells contain small illuminations like this deco-rated initial.

The Irish Wolfhound (Irish: Cú Faoil, Irish pronunciation: [ˈkuː ˈfˠiːlʲ]) is a breed of domestic dog (Canis lupus familiaris), specifically a very large sight hound from Ireland. The name originates from its purpose—wolf hunting with dogs—rather than from its appearance. Originally developed from war hounds to one used for hunting and

guarding, Irish Wolfhounds can be an imposing sight due to their formidable size. They are the tallest of all dog breeds The breed is very old; there are suggestions it may have been brought to Ireland as early as 7000 BC. These dogs are mentioned, as cú (variously translated as hound, Irish hound, war dog, wolf dog, etc.) in Irish laws and in Irish literature which dates from the 5th century or, in the case of the Sagas, from the old Irish period - AD 600-900. The word "Cu" often became an added respected prefix on the names of warriors as well as kings denoting that they were worthy of the respect and loyalty of a Cu. Ancient wood cuts and writings have placed them in existence as a breed by 273 BC. However, there is indication that huge dogs existed even as early as 279 BC when the Tectosages andTolistobogii Celts sacked Delphi. Survivors left accounts of the fierce Celts and the huge dogs who fought with them and at their side. They were mentioned by Julius Caesar in his treatise, The Gallic Wars, and by 391 AD, they were written about by Roman Consul, Quintus Aurelius Symmachus, who received seven of them, "canes Scotici," as a gift to be used for fighting lions and bears, in his words, "all Rome viewed (them) with wonder." Wolfhounds were bred as hunting dogs by the ancients, who called them Cú Faoil. The Irish continued to breed them for this purpose, as well as to guard their homes and protect their stock. In his Historie of Ireland completed 1571, Blessed Edmund Campiongives a description of the hounds used for hunting the wolves on the Dublin and Wicklow mountains. He says: They (the Irish) are not without wolves and greyhounds to hunt them, bigger of bone and limb than a colt. Due to their popularity overseas many were exported to European royal houses leaving numbers in Ireland depleted. This led to a declaration by Oliver Cromwell himself being published in Kilkenny on 27 April 1652 to ensure that sufficient numbers remained to control the wolf population.

Modern wolfhound Englishman Captain George Augustus Graham is responsible, with a few other breeders, for reaffirming the dogs' existence. In 1879 he wrote: "It has been ascertained beyond all question that there are few speci-mens of the breed still left in Ireland and England to be considered Irish wolfhounds, though falling short of the requisite dimen-sions. This blood is now in my possession." Captain Graham devoted his life to ensuring the survival of the Irish wolfhound. In 1885 Captain Graham, with other breeders, founded the Irish Wolf-hound Club, and the Breed Standard of Points to establish and agree the ideal to which breeders should aspire. The Irish Wolf-hound was officially recognized by the AKC in 1897. These big dogs are described as calm, dignified, kindly, and courageous but not aggressive.

Mill Ends Park (sometimes mistakenly called Mill's End Park) is a tiny urban park located in the median strip of SW Naito Parkway, approach-ing esplanade along the Willamette River near SW Taylor Street in downtown Portland. The park is a small circle 2 feet across, with a total area of 452 square inches. It is the smallest park in the world, according to the Guinness Book of Records, which first granted it this recognition in 1971. In 1948 the site that would become Mill Ends Park was intended to be the site for a light pole. When the pole failed to appear and weeds sprouted in the opening, Dick Fagan, a columnist for the Oregon Journal, planted flowers in the hole and named it after his column in the paper, "Mill Ends" (a refer-ence to leftover irregular pieces of wood at lumber mills). Fagan's office in the Journal building over-looked the median in the middle of the busy thor-oughfare that ran in front of the building (then known as SW Front Avenue). The park was dedicated on St. Patrick's Day, 1948, as "the only leprechaun colony west of Ireland," according to Fagan. Fagan wrote whimsical stories about the park and the lives of its alleged residents, leprechauns that only he could see. The stories caught the imagination of the residents of Portland, and although Fagan died in 1969, the park lives on, cared for by oth-ers. It was named an official city park in 1976. It has featured many unusual items through the decades, including a swimming pool for butterflies (complete with diving board), a horseshoe, a miniature Ferris wheel, which was delivered by a full sized crane. On St. Patrick’s Day in 2001 the park was visited by a tiny lepre-chaun leaning against his pot of gold and children’s drawings of four-leaf clovers and leprechauns. It continues to be the site of

St. Patrick’s Day festivities: concerts by the Clan Macleay Pipe Band, picnics, and rose plantings by the Junior Rose Festival Court. Continued next column

Proving that the city of Portland has, indeed, adopted this tiny park, in February 2006 the park was temporarily relocated during road construction to a planter outside the World Trade Center Portland, about 80 feet from its permanent location. It was returned to its home—now named SW Naito Park-way—on March 16, 2007, in true St. Patrick's Day style with the Royal Rosarians bagpipers, and the Fagan family, including Dick's widow, Katherine, in attendance. The legend lives on in the Fagan family. One of Fagan's sons, Pat Fagan, lives nearby and has enjoyed sharing the park with his own son. "He loves it," Pat Fagan said. "It's still the largest lepre-chaun colony west of Ireland." In December 2011, plastic army men figures and small signs were placed in Mill Ends as a tongue-in-cheek flash mob demonstration for Occupy Port-land.

In March 2013 the park's tree was stolen. Officials planted a replacement tree, and one day later a passerby found what ap-peared to be the stolen tree lying next to the new one. That the park was named the smallest park by Guinness, eventually prompted officials from Burntwood (a town in Staf-fordshire, England) to complain to Guinness, claiming that Mill Ends was not large enough to be a park, and that Prince's Park, smallest in the UK, should hold the world re-cord as it "has a fence around it" among other features. In re-sponse, volunteers erected a fence around and stationed an "armed guard" in the park. Amazing perhaps, in this day and age that this tiny park should continue to captivate the imagination of a city, but stories have a way of doing that, and then again, it is Portland. Other cities have their unique features and culture: San Antonio has its river walk, Seattle has Pike Place Market and the Space Needle. But these are grandiose features. A tiny park that belongs to the people of Portland is something special in a big sort of way.

Mill Ends Park – a tiny place with big heart

Speaking of Portland, it is ground zero for coffee culture. Here is a taste of what is downtown! From travelportland.com

In Portland, coffee is the new wine, baristas are akin to rock stars and only the most tricked-out es-presso machines are trusted with unique house roasts. With breakout local successes like Stumptown Coffee Roasters, which now boasts satellites in Brooklyn and Seattle as well as a burgeoning line of bottled cold brews, the city seems poised to take over (or at least over-caffeinate) the nation. In the meantime, visitors will find Portland’s bean scene is as accessible as it is diverse. In fact, you don’t have to leave down-town to sample some of the best cups. Here’s a short list that’s bound to get you buzzing.

Courier Coffee Roasters Owner Joel Domreis starts most days with a 4 a.m. roasting ses-sion, cooking up to 100 pounds of fresh green beans before switching to baking duty in his minimalist storefront at Courier Coffee Roasters. Behind the bar made of locally sourced walnut,

Continued on page 6

Fast Facts about Portland

Portland is the only major U.S. city to have a dormant volcano within the city limits. (Dormant means it is sleeping and there is the potential that it could wake up at some point?!)

With over 700 food carts on the streets, Portland has been named the best city in the world for street food by several publications.

Portland is one of the few destinations outside of France where you can take your dog into pubs.

Portland’s “Shanghai Tunnels”, lesser known as “Portland Underground,” connected the basements of many downtown hotels and pubs to the Willamette River’s waterfront. Origi-nally built to move goods from docked ships, these tunnels quickly created a unique network of passages and thorough-fares that were used by unscrupulous individuals called “shanghaiiers” or “crimps,” to move drugged and kidnapped individuals on to ships and into slavery and prostitution.

Left, Mrs. Fagan, March 2016

Portland Coffee, continued from page 5

cold brews steep for 24 hours and light- and medium-bodied sin-gle-origin varieties are filtered through 23-karat-gold-plated cones. Domreis’ cannelés also have a dedicated following.

Spella Café Andrea Spella’s closet-size Spella Café near Pioneer Courthouse Square showcases the Italian-American’s love for palate-engaging blended roasts and a fondness for rare bean varietals imported from Brazil and India. Order a traditional cappuccino and look for bags of tiny, handpicked peaberry beans from Kar-nataka, India, to savor back home.

Barista Run by a three-time winner of the Northwest Barista Competi-tion, Billy Wilson, Barista coffee shops feature beans from some of the best roasters in the country, like San Francisco-based Sightglass. Wilson selects robust espressos, and the AeroPress brewing method employed here delivers cups with lots of body. Barista also has locations in the Pearl District and on Northeast Alberta Street.

Stumptown Coffee Roasters Portland’s most famous coffee export has four beautiful, bustling locations around the city, with two right downtown, at the Ace Hotel and on Third Avenue. More than a dozen locally roasted single-origin and blended roasts — including the company’s most popular, the aptly named Hairbender — line the shelves. Grab a bag of whole beans or sample a select few via single-cup pour-overs from the bar.

Heart Coffee Roasters Named the No. 1 coffee shop to see before you die by BuzzFeed, Heart‘s downtown location brings their delicately roasted coffee to the trendy West End. Don’t be deceived by the straightforward approach and stark white space: This coffee is complex, with light floral and berry notes you don’t find from many roasters.

Case Study Coffee Nestled across the street from the Central Library, Case Study Coffee is the perfect place to hunker down on a winter’s day. Not only will the beautiful wood paneled interior and many windows keep you feeling cozy, the in-house roaster and stellar gourmet

mochas (with house-made syrups highlighting fine ingredients) can help bring your body tem-perature up a degree or two.

Health, Wealth and Happiness

Sambuca is a liqueur flavored with essential oils obtained from anise, star an-ise, licorice and other spices. It also con-tains elderflowers. Sambuca is considered to go particularly well with coffee. Like other anise liqueurs, it may be drunk after coffee as an ammazzacaffè or added directly to coffee in place of sugar to produce a caffè corretto. The most iconic serving of sambuca is a shot with seven coffee beans, representing the Seven hills of Rome. Likewise, a shot with one coffee bean, called con la mosca, which means "with the fly," is as common. When served with three coffee beans, they are said to represent health, wealth & happiness.. The shot may be ignited to toast the coffee beans with the flame extinguished immediately before drinking.

From Dancing Moon Coffee . . .

The Legend of the Dancing Moon

Many ages ago before there was anyone to count the passing time, the Sun and the Moon had a terrible argument. They had always lived together in perfect harmony, but one day the proud Sun became jealous of the

Moon’s great beauty. So they decided to separate and divide time into two parts. This made the Sun very happy. But the Moon was very sad. Then one morning, just as the Sun was waking up, a big dark cloud covered his face. For a few brief moments the Sun and the Moon were together again in the sky. The Moon was so happy some people said it did a little dance. The Sun didn’t want to admit it, but he was happy too. So ever since that time they decided to be together twice a day. And sometimes, if you look at just the right moment, you’ll see that it seems the Moon is still dancing.

Coffee Lore

There’s a Romanian superstition that if you spill coffee you’ll receive money.

It’s said that bubbles in the middle of your coffee cup foretells bad weather while bubbles around the rim means it will be a beautiful day. There is some science behind this. High atmospheric pressure can push bubbles in a liquid to the edge of the container.

Bubbles in your coffee are also supposed to be good luck - espe-cially if you catch them with your spoon and eat them. And, of course, bubbles are very low in calories!

It’s bad luck to stir coffee with a fork or a knife.

In Turkey they believe that if a very young boy drinks coffee he will never be able to grow a moustache.

If you put some coffee and a piece of bread under the house it will scare away witches and ghosts. Something to remember next Halloween!

Pope Clement VIII was pressured by his advisors to declare cof-fee “the bitter invention of Satan.” But after tasting it he suppos-edly said “This Devil’s drink is so delicious, we should cheat the Devil by baptizing it.”

In 17th Century Finland, coffee was sold at pharma-cies. The Finns believed that the drink would cure headaches and dizziness and that it would also make the blood thinner. Today, there are many important health benefits associated with drinking coffee.

“Just the other day, I was in my neighborhood Star-bucks, waiting for the post office to open. I was enjoy-ing a chocolatey cafe mocha when it occurred to me that to drink a mocha is to gulp down the entire history of the New World. From the Spanish exportation of Aztec cacao, and the Dutch invention of the chemical process for making cocoa, on down to the capitalist empire of Hershey, PA, and the lifestyle marketing of Seattle's Starbucks, the modern mocha is a bittersweet concoction of imperialism, genocide, invention, and consumerism served with whipped cream on top.” Sarah Vowell

The Dragon Legend of the Koi

Koi are a legendary fish. Graceful, vibrant, and one of the most recog-nizable fish in the world, koi are well-loved and respected. Often associated with Japan, koi actually originated from Central Asia in China. They were introduced to Japan by Chinese invaders. The koi got their name around 500 B.C, but the fish itself has been around for much longer. Fossils of ancient koi date back 20 million years. Natural genetic mutation brought about the brilliant colors in koi known today, and in the early 1800s Japanese farmers began keeping them for aesthetics. Over the years, koi fish meaning and symbolism has become iconic around the world.

Waterfall Legend One particular legend is the koi fish’s claim to fame. An ancient tale tells of a huge school of golden koi swimming upstream in-the Yellow River in China. Gaining strength by fighting against the current, the school glimmered as they swam together through the river. When they reached a waterfall at the end of the river, many of the koi turned back, letting the flow of the river carry them away. The remaining koi refused to give up. Leaping from the depths of the river, they attempted to reach the top of the water-fall to no avail. Their efforts caught the attention of local de-mons, who mocked their efforts and heightened the waterfall out of malice. After a hundred years of jumping, one koi finally reached the top of the waterfall. The gods recognized the koi for its perseverance and determination and turned it into a golden dragon, the image of power and strength. From then on the wa-terfall was known as “Dragon’s Gate.”

Symbolism and Meaning Koi fish are associated with positive imagery. Because of the dragon legend, they are known as symbols of strength and perse-verance, as seen in their determinative struggle upstream. And because of the lone koi that made it to the top of the waterfall, they are also known as symbols of a destiny fulfilled. In Japan, koi are also thought to symbolize courage and strength. “Koinobori,” koi windsocks, streamers, and banners can be seen flying in Japan from April through early May. The koi banners are displayed in honor of Children’s Day on May 5. Originally, similar banners were used by samurai warriors on the battlefield and were often adorned with carp. Today, all of the Koinobori are decorated with the koi fish. Families traditionally have flown koinobori to honor their sons, but today all of the children in the household are often honored by flying a koinobori for each child. The integrity and high sense of character koi are known for makes them a popular tattoo choice both in Asia as well as America. Koi fish are also symbolized according to their coloration. Black koi represent masculinity. It also signifies a patriarchal role. Gold koi symbolize prosperity and wellbeing in business. Blue koi, often associated with the role of the son, represents tranquility. Red koi represent strength and power. It also is rec-ognized as the matriarchal koi. Whatever the legend or color, koi fish will always carry a positive weight. Whether it be good fortune, longevity, persever-ance, or courage, the koi fish encompasses it all.

Dragon Gate

Legend of the Salmon of Knowledge, continued from front page

So he and the Druid changed their methods. Now each time they caught a fish, they studied it before they decided to cook it. They chose to keep only those that were plump and beautiful and pink. No one really knows why they decided the Salmon of Knowledge must be beautiful, but they did. One evening they caught a thin, tired-looking fish with a hooked snout -- no beauty at all. Naturally when they saw it, they decided this could never be the special salmon. Instead of tossing it into the river, they merely dropped it on the shore, and it began to wriggle its way back toward the cool water. But as it happened, a lad -- one who appeared to be only a simple gossoon, or servant -- was watching them, and when he saw the fish wriggling onshore, he whispered to himself, "That may not be good enough for a king, but it looks just fine for me." This lad was Finn -- the son of Cumhal, grandson of Trein the Big, who had saved his people of the Western Sea and had cre-ated a great warrior people. Alas, when they were beaten in bat-tle, Finn's mother gave him for safekeeping to a Druidess who raised him, and to that day he had no idea of his great heritage. But he was hungry, so he lit a fire and put that skinny fish on it to cook. Very soon a blister began to rise on its silvery side, and when Finn saw this, he was uneasy -- perhaps there was something wrong with the creature. He pressed his thumb against the swelling, and it burst open and burned his thumb. Instantly Finn pressed the thumb to his mouth to cool, and in that moment, everything changed. The second he touched his teeth, he turned into a wise, all-knowing lad. He had always been tall and beautiful and strong, but now he was also wise -- as if he had been 100 years old. He could see the future, too. He could see his future glories and the failure of his enemies. Everything flashed before his eyes, and he saw that everyone would sing stories of his fame. This was the boy who became known as Finn, the fair leader of the Fianna, that great brotherhood of men. The Fianna were mighty hunters and warriors, with no fixed calling. They owned rich robes and gold ornaments and beautiful weapons, but they lived in the wild, among the deer and wolves of the forest. The Fianna, and their great leader, Finn, became famous for their courage and strength and beauty. Some say it was all because of the Salmon of Knowledge. As for King Cormac, he lost his battle when he never could find the Salmon of Knowledge. And it was only after he lost eve-rything that he realized what he once had . . .

Aesop’s Fables: Foxy Rooster

A fox sneaked into a farm and grabbed a prize rooster. The farmer saw him and raised the alarm and he and his dogs started chasing the thief. The fox, though he was holding the rooster in his mouth, was running very fast. "Get him! Get him!" shouted the farmer to his dogs. "No!" suddenly screamed the rooster. "Don't come near me!" "My master was very cruel to me," explained the rooster to the fox. "Tell him to stay away from me." The fox was delighted. "He wants you to stay away from him!" he shouted at the farmer, in the process releasing his hold on the rooster. The rooster flew up into a tree and stayed there till he was rescued by his master.

Storytelling Events

Guild Meetings and more on the Back Page!

Contact Andy to list your events here at ahurlbut@cox.net

Yarnball Storytelling Open Mic Every Wednesday at 8:00 pm.

Lawn Gnome Publishing 905 N. 5th St., Phoenix

Free if you sign up to tell. Stories about 5 to 6 minutes. Themes are suggested, but any story is ok. Store closes at 10:00 pm.

Lawn Gnome sells new and used books and is located in the newly renovated Roosevelt area. They have an extensive events calendar that features music, poetry, writing, and storytelling.

Out of the Box Women's Storytelling Saturday, March 26th 10:00am - 12:00pm (doors open at 9:30)

Dobson's Restaurant at Dobson Ranch Golf Course 2155 S. Dobson Road Mesa AZ 85202

Fee: $20 - includes brunch

Join us and be part of an exciting new way to hear six 8-10 min-ute personal, uplifting, faith-promoting stories about the wonders of God and enjoy a delicious brunch! We offer fun, laughter, and a chance to win door prizes! Please call Anne one week in ad-vance of event@ 480-275-9931 if interested in telling a story. Register online at www.changepointinc.org

Contact: Anne McDowell Email: annemcd17@q.com Phone: 480-275-9931 More Info: http://outoftheboxstorytelling.com/

Folktales for Grownups Wednesday, March 2, 2016 | 6:30pm - 8:30pm FREE

SMCC Library Community Room 7050 S. 24th Street Phoenix AZ 85042

The Moth Radio Hour

KJZZ is broadcasting the storytelling program The Moth from 3:00 to 4:00 pm on Saturday afternoons on local Public Radio Station 97.5 FM.

This is the program that inspired the Arizona Storytellers Pro-ject—a live broadcast of true stories.

Check out their web site at themoth.org/radio.

AZ Rep Storytelling Stories of a Stylish Life Wednesday, March 2, 2016 7:00 to 9:00 pm

Opportunity to tell

We take over Cummings Great Hall with the Valley's most styl-ish citizens. This night is in partnership with the Arizona Cos-tume Institute Nouveau Chapter. We will hear stories from fash-ionistas, models and retailers as we celebrate fashion, beauty and self-expression. Tickets include appetizers.

Details: 6 p.m. check-in; stories 7-9 p.m. Tickets $10. 350 Tickets available here. Tellers needed.

Location Details: Phoenix Art Museum 1625 North Central Avenue Phoenix AZ 85004

Storyfind

Reception/Workshop Saturday, March 26, 2016 1:00 – 4:00 pm Open to the public, FREE admission

Monthly Storytelling Reception/Workshop There will be different themes and focus each month. Presented by the SMCC Storytelling Institute

For information, contact: Liz Warren Phone: 602-243-8026

Location Details South Mountain Community College PAC 740 7050 S. 24th Street Phoenix AZ 85042

Journeys Storytelling Workshops with Liz Warren Saturday, March 12, 2016 10:00am - 12:00pm

The Whole Life Center at Shadow Rock will be offering monthly two-hour storytelling workshops with Liz Warren this spring, as well as quarterly Storytelling Nights.

In these workshops, you'll learn essential skills of storytelling as you find, structure, develop, and tell a story from your own life that you might share at our Journeys: Storytelling Nights or just for your own family and friends.

March workshop will focus on adventure stories. $20 per session.

Space is limited, so please sign up in advance at www.WLCsr.org/offerings

Whole Life Center at Shadow Rock 12861 N. 8th Avenue, Phoenix, AZ 85029 (just south of Thunderbird, at the edge of the mountain preserve)

Annual Gathering of the Bards Thursday, March 31, 2016 All day or non-timed event Festival!

SMCC Performance Hall 7050 S. 24th Street Phoenix AZ 85042 US

Time is a great storyteller. Irish Proverb

West Side Storytellers Membership Application $10 annual Membership entitles you to receive a monthly e-newsletter

For information contact westsidestorytellers@yahoo.com

Name (s) ______________________________________________________________________ Contact info: E-mail__________________________________________________ Phone: _________________________

West Side Storytellers Officers President - Mark Compton (Mark.compton@usa.net)

Secretary - Andy Hurlbut (ahurlbut@cox.net) Treasurer - Susan Sander (sksander@cox.net)

Web Guru - Donna Martin (dmartinstoryteller@gmail.com)

The West Side Storytellers usually meet the first Saturday at 10:00 am at the St. John’s Lutheran Church

7205 N. 51st Ave., Glendale, AZ 85301

Next meeting will be Saturday, March 5th

Opportunity to tell or hear stories

Our mission statement: West Side Storytellers (WSST) is a storytelling guild dedicated to the developing and advancing the art of storytelling by giving group performances, workshops and other storytelling events for public enjoyment and education.

Contact us: westsidestorytellers@yahoo.com

Newsletter - Contact Andy Hurlbut at ahurlbut@cox.net or call 602.437.0811 with feedback, questions and comments, or with

articles and information for events, etc. Articles or stories are lim-ited to 1000 - 1500 words or less.

The Back Page - more events!

East Valley Tellers of Tales Meet the second Saturday of the month to hear great stories and celebrate Storytelling Successes. All tellers and listeners are welcome.

Next meeting scheduled for Saturday, March 12th Meeting is from 10:00 am to noon At the Scottsdale Civic Center Library 3839 N. Drinkwater Blvd. Scottsdale (downstairs in the Gold Room)

East Valley Tellers of Tales is a group that provides a safe place to hear and tell stories, to learn about stories and storytelling, and enjoy fellowship with others. We support the personal and professional development of members, preserve and promote storytelling, and provide information about storytelling opportu-nities and events.

More info at evtot.com

Tucson Tellers of Tales Guild Meeting Next meeting Saturday, March 5, 2016 9:30 am - 12:00 am

Tellers of Tales was formed in 1979 to preserve and promote the art of storytelling. If you're looking to tell stories, learn to tell stories or listen to stories, this is the group for you. Tellers of all skill levels are welcome OR if you just think it might be some-thing you'd like to learn we offer workshops and feedback on ways to find, develop and present stories.

We meet the first Saturday of every month (except July and August)

The Unscrewed Theatre 3244 E. Speedway Blvd. Tucson, Arizona 85716

Until we meet again, may God hold you in the palm of his hand. Irish Blessing

AZ Rep Storytelling Estamos Aquí/We Are Here Thursday, March 31, 2016 7:00pm - 9:00pm

Opportunity to tell

We'll bring you a night celebrating Latinos and their stories of school, work, friendship and family in the Valley, and how their identities shape their lives, and our communities. Details: 6 p.m. check-in; stories 7-9 p.m. March 31.

Tickets $10. 350 Tickets available here. Tellers needed.

SMCC Performance Hall 7050 S. 24th Street Phoenix AZ 85042 Beautiful young people are acts of nature. But beautiful old people are works of art. Irish Toast

Fun Facts about Ireland and the Irish

The River Shannon is the longest river in Ireland or Britain. A village known as "Dun Bleisce" recently won the right to

change its name back to an old-time local favorite. The town will now be called "Fort of the Harlot," as it was in the distant past. After a variety of names were used to de-scribe the town over the years, the government christened it "An Dun," which translates simply into "The Fort," in 2003. But a recent petition by townspeople has prompted officials to put "the Harlot" back into the name. The historical harlot involved here may have simply been a powerful woman, and not a harlot in the modern sense of the word!

The original Guinness Brewery in Dublin has a 9000 year lease on its property, at a perpetual rate of 45 Irish pounds per year.

One of the most popular radio shows in rural Ireland is still the weekly broadcast of local obituaries.

An old legend says that while Christ will judge all nations on judgment day, St. Patrick will be the judge of the Irish.

The national symbol of Ireland is the Celtic Harp, not the shamrock.