These days there is hardly anybody who isn’t talking or at least thinking of the so-called “Brexit” Referendum in the UK. If you are still ignorant of what “Brexit” stands for: Britain’s Exit from the European Union. According to news tidbits, social media posts (on Facebook, Twitter and others) the people who voted for leaving are slowly waking up to the facts they claim they didn’t know: The good aspects of belonging. It is unbelievable how many people NOW Google ‘European Union’ to find out what it actually is and stands for. Why did they vote the way they did? One Twitter post was re-tweeted and reading it made me shake my head:
“I voted for leaving because I didn’t think we would win anyway. I thought my vote wouldn’t count.”

Did they vote for leaving because they believed the politicians who were yelling loudly how much better off they would be if Britain is on its own again? “The Donald” smiled and assured them: “Now Britain can be ‘great’ again.” He also reported home after his arrival in Scotland that “the Scots are ecstatic about the outcome.” Did he not know that the Scots were the smart ones and voted for ‘stay’ and now are once again talking about separating? They knew on which side their bread was buttered…and so did most of the Northern Irish. And it seems so did most of the younger and more educated English according to coloured maps on the Internet.

What was the immediate fall-out? Look at the Stock Market – affecting not only Britain. Our already weak Canadian Dollar lost more than 1.5 cents over night. The pound fell to its lowest since 1985, the forecast looks at rising prices, especially for airfares, vacation packages – and those are just the items not everyone uses anyway! What about the validity of the EU passports and the related health insurance, no free borders, no moneys from the EU to help with certain projects… Can we get back in? No, says the EU. Prime Minister Cameron resigned, wanting to stay on until October, an uncertain future as to who will lead the country. The EU saying “Finish this as soon as possible. Get it over with.” Now people have started applying for French, German, Spanish and other passports. The proud Brits do this? Yes.

The “Brexit” is a sad affair. It will affect more than just “Great Britain” and I wonder what it will take to make it “GREAT” again. It has not only destabilized the UK, it has destabilized the EU too.

On a lighter, less serious, note let me tell you a hardly known story that someone sent me by e-mail:
“His name was Fleming, and he was a poor Scottish farmer. One day, while trying to make a living for his family, he heard a cry for help coming from a nearby bog. He dropped his tools and ran to the bog. There, mired to his waist in black muck, was a terrified boy, screaming and struggling to free himself. Farmer Fleming saved the lad from what could have been a slow and terrifying death.
The next day, a fancy carriage pulled up to the Scotsman’s sparse surroundings. An elegantly dressed nobleman stepped out and introduced himself as the father of the boy Farmer Fleming had saved.
‘I want to repay you,’ said the nobleman. ‘You saved my son’s life.’
‘No, I can’t accept payment for what I did,’ the Scottish farmer replied waving off the offer. At that moment, the farmer’s own son came to the door of the family hovel.
‘Is that your son?’ the nobleman asked.
‘Yes,’ the farmer replied proudly.
‘I’ll make you a deal. Let me provide him with the level of education my own son will enjoy. If the lad is anything like his father, he’ll no doubt grow to be a man we both will be proud of.’
And that he did.
Farmer Fleming’s son attended the very best schools and in time, graduated from St Mary’s Hospital Medical School in London, and went on to become known throughout the world as the noted Sir Alexander Fleming, the discoverer of Penicillin.
Years afterward, the same nobleman’s son who was saved from the bog was stricken with pneumonia. What saved his life this time?
Penicillin.
The name of the nobleman? Lord Randolph Churchill … His son’s name? Sir Winston Churchill.”

Someone once said:
What goes around comes around.
Work like you don’t need the money.
Love like you’ve never been hurt.
Dance like nobody’s watching.
Sing like nobody’s listening.
Live like it’s Heaven on Earth.

And the Irish wish for us:
May there always be work for your hands to do.
May your purse always hold a coin or two;
May the sun always shine on your windowpane;
May a rainbow be certain to follow each rain;
May the hand of a friend always be near you;
May God fill your heart with gladness to cheer you.
And may you be in heaven a half hour before the devil
knows you’re dead.

I really like that last line!

But I remember a dear Irish friend who said “May the wind be always on your back…”