Just a personal observation, Counselor. But it just goes to show, that's how stereotypes get started. So shame on me .

But for the record, here's where it comes from: I spend A LOT of time in the Irish pubs in my neighborhood (like I said, there are loads of Irish Americans in Throggs Neck). And I've just made the casual observation that some of my Irish friends will order a thirty dollar steak, insist that it's well done, and then pour ketchup all over it . Why bother?

But now that I think about it, it's FAR more likely that they do it because they are, much like me, blue collar shmendricks from the Bronx, and that it has nothing to do with the fact that their grandparents were from County Cork.

Oh, and speaking of Celtic Counties and Bronx Irish bars: Whenever I walk into my favorite watering hole, the bartender, a feisty Irishman, yells out "Here comes County Kill-Guinea."

And THAT doesn't bother me at all. It's all about the context and how familiar you are with the people you're interacting with .