There's a line in a book of short stories by Simon Van Booy recalling wisdom from somebody's grandfather: "Coincidences mean that you are on the right track." Tempting words to keep in mind.
This St. Patrick's day, like most, we did a little research to recall what the day is celebrating. I read this much on a wikipedia, or maybe heard it on a report from NPR Morning Edition, that St. Patrick is remembered for driving the snakes out of Ireland. This idea was debated briefly by graduates of conservation biology school: what factors cause extinction of an animal group from a certain region?
Ok. A day later, a housemate, reading The Mists of Avalon, came upon the St. Patrick story. "Snakes" stands for Druids being driven out by Catholics. A day later, I started reading the book Forever, by Pete Hamil and the subject came up again, talking about "the lonely God of St. Patrick," and the persecution of the Celts.
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