On a certain section of the Connecticut Post Road in a town called Westport, a row of neat but nondescript stores sit quietly amid the frenzy of traffic and rhythm of life.

One storefront stands out.

An Irish flag positioned aside an American one guards the entrance and on certain days if the breeze from the nearby Long Island Sound kicks in, its tricolours of green, white and orange wave gently – a tribute to the owners, Brian Ellard and Margaret Kirby who hail from Tipperary. I can’t recall the first time I visited Peggy’s Cottage, but I do know it was that Irish flag that beckoned and once I stepped foot inside, there was no going back.Growing up, my life encompassed all things Irish. My mother was Irish born and my Irish/Scottish father managed a well-known Irish pub called Rosie O’Grady’s in New York City. A few charmed summers…

….not to mention DIFFERENT SONGS FOR DIFFERENT THRONGS— or at least FOR DIFFERENT DOZENS (I’ll take my relatively few readers and leave the dippy throngs to politicians and celebrities). So, without further ado, let’s do a few quotes to get underway, and then go to some songs to make your day.

“All young men greatly exaggerate the difference between one young woman and another.” –George Bernard Shaw

“We drink when we’re not thirsty, and we make love all the time — that’s all the difference between us and other animals.” –Caron de Beaumarchais

“If you want to be different nowadays, just act normal.” –Evan Esar

Some may say there are better versions of the next song, but this is the one I remember hearing as a boy:

This last song reminds me that things might have been so different if Trump hadn’t been elected…