Friend Finders

www.passportsandpostcards.com

Walking through the neighborhood park with Carlos, I came across these. I picked them up and was about to throw them in the trash. I didn't want some young kids getting their hands on them. Just as I was about to toss them, I thought, wait a minute, I'll be in Ireland next week, these might come in handy.

I don't smoke, never have, and wasn't about to take it up in a Dublin pub. So I stashed them in my pack of postcards and little gifts and took them along on the trip. 

Conversation in a crowded Dublin pub with a local lad and translating a thick Gaelic accent could be challenging. So I'd whip these out, offer one up, and we'd head outside with our pints. No one ever even noticed, or maybe they were just being polite, that I wasn't smoking. 

As is customary in Ireland, a fair shake was indeed in order. Next pint was on my new found Irish buddy. And we carried on...