My Life as an Irish American Girl

Do you see the sun?
How about the moon?
Do you see the clouds?
How about the rain?
Everybody is staring at the sky.
During the day and at night.
Everybody is wondering if they are seen.
Or even if they are being heard.
Do you see me?
Do you hear me?
Or maybe I’m invisible.
Even in a city that never sleeps.
Did you hear that?
Did you see them?
A person stood below.
The person smiled.
Finally they were seen.
Finally they were heard.

Yiu Tak Louis Tao was born on September 20th 1966 in Hong Kong. When he was a little boy he immigrated from Hong Kong and moved to Brooklyn, New York. 

During his career life, Louis Tao was a Supervisory FBI Police Officer for decades. Until he hung up his badge due to cancer. Here's an article written by FBI Dirctor: Christopher Wray Remembering Yiu Tak Louis Tao

Louis Tao was a speical man. He was my parents best friend for thirty-five years and an uncle to me for thirty years. Since day one, we always called him Uncle Lou or Louie. 

Every Saturday, He would come over. First Lou would wash his car, and do his laundry. Then he would prepare a delicious dinner for my family and himself.

 In the Mullen family, He was known for making the BEST fried chicekn and homemade french fries. Sometimes he would even make homemade chicken nuggets. But I never learned his secret recipe or maybe there was no secret. We will never know. 

Uncle Lou loved to visit Ireland and see the Irish family. He loved everybody in the family. He always referred to granny as mom and she would always call him her son. He went on many adventures while we were in Ireland. But I have two favorite memories that make me laugh and smile at the same time. 

Back in the early 2000, my dad took my brothers and I to a castle. I forget where it was. But when my brother Brendan jumped out of one of the windows of the castle, Uncle Lou almost had a minor heart attack. He thought Brendan fell a few stories but instead he just landed on the grass below. 

When Uncle Lou first came with us to Ireland, He spotted a black cow. He was laughing. I will admit you don't see black cows everyday. At least not here in the city. 

During the hot summer days, Uncle Lou would join us in the pool, and even sun bathe on the bench in our backyard. 

Whenever my parents would go on dates, Uncle Lou would be our babysitter. He was one of the best sitters. 

Uncle Lou was the best "Uncle" and family friend the Mullen Family ever had. We will never forget the memories we've shared with him. 

Rest in Peace Uncle Lou. September 1966 - May 17th 2022. 

 This weekend I spent time scanning photos from the 90s-2000s. As I was sorting through them, my mind starting thinking about my childhood days. I began to reflect on how much life has changed. As I sat there looking at each photo, reality hit me. I'm thirty making my way to my fourties. 

Life isn't going to slow down. Days, months, weeks and even years, are going to come and go. The only thing left of those years are the memories. Every day when we have the blessing from God to be able to enjoy another day, we need to make the most of that day because tomorrow isn't promised. Each day is a blessing. 

Sure a lot has changed over the years. Some memories are more like nightmares that I choose to forget, other memories I am thankful for. 

One memory from my childhood, was all the fun birthday parties my mom put together for me. That's something I am thankful for. My birthday falls in summer, so we always had pool parties when I was little. Got to invite my school friends to the party too which was fun. 

As you get older, you forget somethings. But whether you remember or not, its still something to be thankful for. That's why I love looking at old photos. It refreshes my mind. 

Sometimes when I have a bad day, I like to take a momenet to have a throw back in my mind. Helps me take a deep breath and a great reminder that bad days are temporary. 

Last year, around this time, I got to go to Disney World for my 30th Birthday Bash. That was a blast. Something I'll never forget. I'm a big Disney fan. My favorite movie growing up, is Air Bud. I used to watch that a lot. Of course you can't forget the classics like Toy Story which is also my favorite. Stitch is my favorite Disney character. Some may disagree but I think He's so cute. 

Plus, I'd love to go to Hawaii one day. The flight is extremely long though. That's where google earth comes in handy. You can visit any country around the world for free. A great way to use your imagination. It helps empty your mind. Great way to start the week stress free.

Here are the pictures. 

In Ireland, St Patrick's Day is a national holiday. Most places are closed. All towns from twenty-six counties have a parade. A lot of celebrations are held by going to mass that day. Most families have a nice meal and a few drinks. A lot of people make Irish Soda bread for breakfast. Everyone wears some shamrocks. For dinner, they have Ham, cabbage, and potatoes. 

In the year 1986, my dad left Ireland and came to America. When he worked at the Brooklyn Racket Club in Brooklyn, he met my mom and they fell in love. You can read about the amazing history of my dad here: A Real Irish Man 

I've been to Ireland twenty-six times. Without my dad, I wouldn't have had the opportunity to explore such a beautiful country. 

Every St Patrick's Day, I take the time to reflect on how blessed I am to have family in another country. I also love to look at old photos from my trips to Ireland over the years. You can read about my trips to Ireland here: Ireland 2020 & Ireland Feb 2017 & Ireland Oct 2017 

You can learn more about Dundalk, Ireland, here: Dundalk Ireland 

Here are some pictures from my twenty-six trips to Ireland. From 1992-2020. 

Gyles Quay 2007