“Words have meanings.”

Such were the words ol’ Paddy Fitzwilliam uttered as we walked the grounds near the stinkin’ pond.

“Words have meanings, and if ye do not understand, let me explain, Friend. When I was a youngster, no higher than a faerie standing on a toadstool, my other friend of longstanding always promised to visit on his way to Skibbereen. On this road he would travel was the very same I lived upon. He never stopped, but kept on a-travellin’ that long road. These were the days I would make special trips to visit him in his  wee village over the many years now. The years passed, and one day I said feck him, my so-called friend is no friend. He be the kind that just talks to hear himself talk and mostly likely believes I am stupid and addle-brained enough to believe his vapid words. Thus, be it known that I have little faith in people, and the only one I can count on is meself. Take heart and hold these words close, for ye will find many a-people such as my former friend.”

And thus, I held ol’ Paddy Fitzwilliams’ words close to my heart, and to this day I do not believe people’s words until I see them put into action.

©2022 Colcannon Metropolis, excerpt from “Points Well Taken”