I got this card from my dear old Dad, from whom I inherited all my Irish blood, some time in the 1980s. On this day that celebrates Irish heritage, I am thinking of him and all my Power and Walsh ancestors reaching back to a town in County Waterford, the exact location of which is lost to the mists of time. The reliable records of my Irish ancestors only go back as far as an apartment building at 559 West 42nd Street in Hell’s Kitchen which no longer exists.

When I got this card I was living paycheck to paycheck and Dad would always throw me a little of the green tucked inside a St. Patrick’s Day card so I could celebrate.

Happy St. Patrick’s Day from Michael Patrick Power!