Great metaphor from Pól Ó Muirí: “speaking a language is like swimming – you might need assistance and a little water helps…”
“And you would want to swim…?”
“Every day! I want to swim every day! I like swimming. It’s fun and good for your health.”
“Every day! I don’t know that the other members would be too happy with that. I don’t think we could fill the pool every day. How about once or twice a year? Maybe on special occasions? We could get a few buckets of water in there now and again. You could go for a paddle. That would be nice, wouldn’t it, a paddle? Everyone likes a paddle. In fact, I bet the members who don’t like to swim could be persuaded to go for a paddle too. It will be great. We will all paddle together.”
“I don’t want to go for a paddle. I want a proper swim. I want to be able to go from one end of the pool to the next without my feet touching the ground. Put some water in the pool! I like swimming. It’s fun. It takes me out of myself. I like to float and splash and dive. I want to swim with the dolphins in Donegal someday.”
Mick is founding editor of Slugger. He has written papers on the impacts of the Internet on politics and the wider media and is a regular guest and speaking events across Ireland, the UK and Europe. Twitter: @MickFealty
