<em><center>"One day that ghost train gonna come for YOU, Johnny-boy..."</center></em>

These were words of an old man I knew, back in New York City; in my younger days.<center>https://files.peakd.com/file/peakd-hive/angryman/lDongn9K-image.png</center>

He must have been around the same age I am, presently; seventy or so, maybe a little older? I don't know...

What I *do* remember for sure, he was an old *Irishman*, named *Mack*. His heavy *brogue* gave all the indication you'd need to decipher the guy spent most of his early years, in the 'land of shamrocks'; running the fields of clover or trudging down worn cobblestones, upon the streets of war-torn Belfast.<center>https://files.peakd.com/file/peakd-hive/angryman/H1970XwU-image.png</center>
*Old Mack* often spoke about the "old country"; joining the fight for freedom in his homeland, as a younger man; the land of his birth.

<em>"The land my father new well, his father before him, the one before that, fruiting from the same tree, with roots deeper than an imagination can take you."</em>

Mack not only told a good story about the past..."the old days", he also loved using play on words, which formed strings of vivid, memorable moments, frozen within the annals of time.

Though the *Irish* are well known for their many, famous quotes, Old Mack had a particular talent for formulating many of his own. His *favorites*, were blown to your ear often enough, that they'd become etched within your own consciousness.

<center><strong>"In life, we get a choice which train to get on... In death, there's only one train waiting at the station - you better hope yours, is heading in the right direction... *Sonny-boy*"</strong></center>
<center>https://files.peakd.com/file/peakd-hive/angryman/eWYFfnkx-image.png</center>
That was another *Mack Quote* I remember. It might not be exactly right, but good enough to pass along, in a way the old guy would probably give me a passing grade...

Notice the "Sonny-boy" at the end of the quote? One day, you might be "Sonny-boy", while the *next*... "Johnny-boy", "Danny-boy" or just plain... "Son"...

They were terms of endearment, regardless how you may have incorrectly interpreted it. Though Mack could be as cocky as the best of them and tough as nails to boot, if ever you raised his *ire*... otherwise, he was an ole *'tip of the hat'* gentleman.

You don't see that gesture with the hat these days anymore, in America; it was very common though when I was a kid in New York City. The old guys all had a sort of *personal* style when it came to tipping the hat, with a *hello* or *goodbye*.

Some would take their cap fully off the head with a very slight nod of the head. Others might raise their hat a wee bit, coming up from the back of the head, ever so subtly. While a *few* simply touched the forward part of the brim with a hand and nodded.

Times were surely different in those ways, back then... Men gave up their seats to the women and old folk on a bus or subway train. They held doors open for ladies, children and seniors to pass through first and more comfortably.

In certain ways, I think the times were *better*, but... there are things we didn't have back then, that we have now to make life a bit more fun and easier.

There's a trade off for just about everything in life that we desire, so it seems. None of you need any examples of it; I know you can think of plenty for yourself.
<center>https://files.peakd.com/file/peakd-hive/angryman/mYIMcsmv-image.png</center>

*Anyway*...

I don't know what it was that got me thinking about *Old man Mack* this evening. Isn't it strange how these things happen? We go off in thought about something or someone, then at some point in the *thinking* we sort of *snap-to* once again, not remembering how that memory was sparked.

Then we find ourselves trying to remember, what caused us to remember, what we're remembering...?!?!?! As *if* it's really all that important.

What *is* important, is the memory itself; good or bad. The bad memories may serve to remind us of how we came to be who we are. If we don't like the image of ourselves within the mirror of our consciousness, we *can* change...
 
Reminiscing can bring spontaneous wisdom. It can lead to those *so-called* "Ah-ha moments" many of us are familiar with. A new understanding of things... sudden enlightenment... the attainment of inner peace.

That experience may arrive from out of a time and place, where someone you once knew said something long forgotten, yet comes whispering back in a quiet moment of contemplation.

It might have been said by someone like my old friend *Mack*, outside of the *Smoke Shop*, under the elevated *Ditmar's Blvd* train station in Astoria, Queens, New York?

An old tough Irish guy, carrying the scars of boyhood poverty, famine, war, prejudice, manual labor at the *Docks* and a few drag-out fistfights after a Whiskey too many, returning home. An old guy *mellowed* by time... who gave up the *Bar* scene for volunteering at the Church like a *"Good Irish-Catholic Lad"* would do. 

*THAT* was Mack, the guy I knew in the 70's, who may have seen a little bit of me, in a younger *him*; wanting to set me *straight*.

I lost touch with him for quite awhile, but bumped into him again years later by the *Off Track Betting* joint on thirty-first Street. There he was, in his signature suit and *Fedora*, with no tie (Ties were just for Sundays)

He must have been in his *nineties* by then; still standing 'straight and tall' sucking on a toothpick, white hair and all.

After an exchange of smiles, his *tipping of the hat* and a firm handshake, I was blessed with a few more words of light-hearted advice and wisdom, before departing.

He's gone now, but remains long lived, in memory...

<center><h5>"The light heart, lives long" - Irish Proverb</h5></center>

Stay well, my friends. Enjoy your life.

***Ciao***
<center>https://files.peakd.com/file/peakd-hive/eve66/vAdtEOAs-love4.png</center>
<center><h3>@AngryMan - Feb. 17, 2021</h3></center>
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