What??? July??? Where have I been?

I've been busy! That's where I've been. Lee's Summit has had several activities lately, some very very good. Octoberfest was 2 weeks ago!! We had to had I'd say 30 or more folks in the shop at a time. New and old friends, it was great to see everybody. I loved the Ooom Pa music that boomed just outside my front door. No, really, I liked it a lot. I can still hear and feel it. Could be because of the Bauer blood mixed in the Sullivan blood runnin in my veins. It was a lot of fun, and no, I had ZERO beer. But not because I didn't want any. Here's a pic of what it looked like outside my shop. Looks a little grim...

Seriously, they raised the curtains and we had a great time interacting with everyone. Can't wait till the next one.

We had a great time at the Irish Fest this year. We had the best spot at the Fest, directly accross from the main entrance at Crown Center. Folks that we see at the shop followed us down to the fest. It's just like family reunion time. We also introduced ourselves to new friends too, hope to see them back home soon. Up above is a shot of Annette Denton and Becky Sue at the booth. (My family was so helpful and more importantly FUN! ) Thanks to Jay & Annette and my cousin Becky Sue Hartman and my mom and her sisters Dot and Becky. Gary and Theresa and theiur kids helped too, so it was a family event along with my Janet, Kristin, Neil and Colin. Again, can't wait till next year.

The Best Place to eat Pizza In NYC~

This is the best place to go - here it is!!! Pax Wholesome Foods in NYC. Janet and I love this place. She loves the convenience of getting out and shopping and then topping off the day with a nice pizza slice, and then jumping the bus for Jesey to the hotel. I love pax for the danger. I love their pizza and paninis. But the danger is if I am going to make it outta there without consuming real New York Cheesecake or not. Oh God it looks so good. I think about it the whole year until we go back. Their cookies are to dream about. My dad used to make Macaroons. Theirs are chocolate and just unbelieveable and cause great memories!

I think that it also has to do with the fact that you 're within a mile of Times Square and the Theatre District. Next year, we're going to try to get into Saturday Night live. (But only after a Reuben panini and a piece of strawberry Cheese cake heaven)! Oh Yum!

SO Hot, yet planning for Christmas

I've been working on our yearly 'Belleek Christmas In July' event. Ordering each of the new Belleek items and Reed and Barton Christmas ornaments for our showing later in the month.

At first, I was skeptical about just having one of each available ornament in the shop. I thought that the only correct way to retail is to have robust amounts of everything in my back room shelves. Since I have NO backroom, or shelves, this is the second best way to handle our situation. As I get into this process, I found that ordering for each customer was really fine as far as my folks went. Besides - this way ensures that they will have a nice new ornament ready when they are. And it's a fun excuse to have Christmas cookies and stuff in the shop for folks to graze on. I've already sent out my electronic invitations, and am working on my postcards now, but if you get neither, don't stay away. Come to the shop, July 30 & &31st and or August 1 during our regular hours.

We may h

We may have JUST what you need for your 2008 Christmas Decorating!

(At least I know that you love our Irish shortbread cookies!) Call if you have questions!

- Chuck Denton

Getting into the summer

It's been a while since I blogged. Now, it's summer and whole lot of things to happen.

We've been to NYC and back. We've suffered through "Streets Alive" in downtown Lee's Summit...(it wasn't really). We had a great galloping Lady's Nite Out, and wish we could do that weekly. It was like a Christmas rush day. I have Amy Robertson from Cameron's to thank for that. They plan and execute Lady's Nite Out. This is their event. The Tominia's are such generous people, I am honored to know them. Amy devised the evening so that the 500 ladies who shopped all day on Saturday had a form to fill out. At each of the participating stores, we had chosen a secret word. To get the word, you had to visit each store and write down the word next to the participating shop's name. (Like playing Password!) Once the form was completed, the 500 ladies had to return the form. Did Amy tell them to come back to her store? NO. She had them end the day at Doherty & Sullivan's to submit their form. They sure didn't have to do that, but they did. Amy's my pal! So are Sue & Steve. They can do no wrong as far as I am concerned.

So now that that's done, we need to spark interest in Lee's Summit thru the hot summer months. That will be tough, but like I always said, the hardest work comes after that last promotion. The party is the easiest. It's the clean-up that's tough to keep motivated for.

Irish Fest - I'm working on it. Having family over to plan our strategy. I will have a room at the Hyatt to keep everyone refreshed and also to sleep over in. Our tent size won't change. At least this year. Not happy about it, but there is no way to create space from nothing. But we'll have a blast anyway. It's gotten to be a tradition that I look forward to, Janet and me and brother Jay and sister Annette meet us at the Fest grounds and unload. They get us set up in time to open by 5:00 and we work that first night. I think that I enjoy that first nite the best. The excitement and anticipation of what is going to happen the next couple of days. Having Jay and Annette the first day, the folks who come out just to see US and the new folks who learn about us. It's Awesome. Hey, look for us. Don't know yet where we'll be, but we'll be there.

Post Market trip to New York

We had a great time in New York City again this year. We went up with expectations of looking for children's clothes, and we did find some great deals, but also we'll have some surprises built in for the rest of the year, at least up until Christmas time. Keep checking in.

We saw a fleeting glimpse of Pope Benedict. We were walking down Park Avenue, feeling really out of place, when Janet mentioned all of the policemen. We figured that it had to have something to do with the Pope's visit, but we couldn't be lucky enough to be in the right place and time. But we were.

A neat thing has begun to happen to us. We somehow have attracted the attention of folks outside of the metropolitan area. Love it! Check on the blog site, and you can tell where people sign in from. You'll see Dublin, Boston. Cork, wherever someone decides to check in, they leave me a footprint in my sand. Neat!

Well, be on the lookout next month for Downtown Days. I'm told that there will be 80,000 people Downtown Lee's Summit, here for shopping, music and food and drink. I hope that if you're one of them, that you'll drop by for a visit. And if you can't visit, pitch in and help!!!

Till next time....

Slainte
Chuck

Is it Spring yet?

I can't tell... We've come through March and now into the April showers bring May flowers thing and - well I think that I heard that it's gonna snow again out here Saturday. THAT figures! We're leaving Saturday to go to NYC for our shopping pilgrimage. THEN, it gets nice here and guess what it's doing in NYC (not counting Pope delays and detours)...no, not snow, but a ton of rain. This is what Irish luck is. It's not really luck, but the absence of it.

Oh well, at least we'll get to see some old friends and see some neat places. We're even going to try the subway all over town. I guess you don't TRY it, you do it or get off it. We're going to go to the Columbus Park Green Flea Market. It's a huge tented area where a lot of vendors sell just a lot of 'stuff' for nothing. That's just about what my budget is right now...nothing.





Then we'll take another subway crosstown to the East Side. On the east side is Bloomingdales, and we'll go there for a few minutes or so and then on further east to Serendippity's. That's the place where they make those Frrrozen Hot chocolate desserets. Yes, I am going to...



Then lastly, we're going to a place called McSorley's. Kerry Browne told me about it and I am going there for the experience of it. She called it an off boaters place. The phrase caught me ear, so I am going to go see what it is. I know that it's in a part of the City that is very old. Maybe either our Greman or Irish Great Grandpas stoppped there before taking the train to Kansas City Kansas and settling within a block of each other...Uh huh.


Anyway, we will have a good time, and Aunt Shirley and a good friend of mine, Mary Concklin will be working the shop Saturday, Monday and Tuesday, so if you're in the neighborhood, stop by to see them. They will be glad to see you. (And I gave them each a $200.00 daily sales goal).
JJJUUuuuuuuuuuussst kidding.


Sorry it's been so long since the last blog, but I've been busy with Irish season and tax time. Glad its over!



Anyhow -
Come see us - you know that I love our visits!


Chuck

Emerald Isle Parade 3-15-2008

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by Ziggie05

Don't know if this is going to work or not, but it's worth a try. These will be pics from the parade on Saturday, March 15, 2008. Hope it works.

Chuck

Regrets - Nah!

'Often regret is very false and displaced, and imagines the past to be totally other than it was.'
JOHN O'DONOHUE, Anam Cara

The best rule of thumb for having regrets is, just don't have em. Don't mislead yourself about the feelings that you have for someone. Realize them for what they are, deal with them by either changing your frame of mind, or be up front about them. DON"T HAVE REGRETS.

Sorry for the lapse - life goes on!

I've been working on the Emerald Isle parade AND ordering for the shop, and taxes, and getting ready for a buying trip...lots of things. I don't know how I kept up when I worked for Bell. I certainly FEEL busier, retired.

IF you are reading my blog, I hope that you remember our Emerald Isle parade on March 15. It will be a great Saturday, weather permitting. And if you'd like to be actually in the parade, just give me a call at 816 524-7151. We're looking for High School bands. None of the Lee's Summit Schools are interested in community events for some reason. We will have students from O'Hara, including their principal, Mr Bowman, who will serve as a judge for us, along with Mr. Dale Hartley, who was the Grand Marshall last year.

If you feel that the blog is of interest, feel free to let me know. You can reply from the blog screen. Buck - you have certainly been an uplift for me. Thanks for your encouraging comments!

Evereybody have a great day, and pray for no snow tomorrow.

The Gift of Self

If you could imagine the most incredible story ever, it would be less incredible than the story of being here. And the ironic thing is that story is not a story, it is true. It takes us so long to see where we are. It takes us even longer to see who we are. This is why the greatest gift you could ever dream is a gift that you can only receive from one person. And that person is you yourself.

-John O'Donohue

In the wake of Cathy's passing, there have been many many instances where we've seen how she touched so many lives in such unusual ways...for instance, in her work, she made routine calls all over the United States. Simple tasks that she made GRAND. Clerks in California, on hearing that she passed away, tell us that they are so depressed. (Cathy has never met these people...she's never been to California.)

Her hairdresser, Vicky has been out of the country for 2 weeks. She called this morning to learn that her client of 36 years has passed. There isn't any way to fill in that missed appointment with someone else.

I guess that what I am trying to do with this reflection of John O'Donohue's is that Cathy had to know herself pretty well in order to leave so much of herself with anyone that she came into contact with. She could give the gift of herself to herself, and also reach thousands of miles away and touch folks in such a way that they are devastated with the news of her loss. That's a strong validation of a pleasant life well lived.

Thank God for Family

I promised to make a blog entry every day. I knew that wouldn't happen. I know myself too well. But the reason isn't due to my proclivity to 'do it tomorrow - first thing,' which never happens...

We lost a very dear relative, Cathy Cullum, my sister - in - law passed away Monday night. Cathy was the oldest in my wife's family of 5 kids. She had the gentlest way about her. She WAS the typical oldest sister, even though I was not raised in the Cullum household. I met her by my employment at SouthWestern Bell in 1973. She had the run of the office, and I was convinced that we ALL worked for HER. She nurthured that opinion all through the time that I knew her. And I didn't mind it a bit. I came to believe that she was my big sister too. We took care of her, what she wanted, we tried our best to make it happen for her. As our kids came along, it was the same for them. She was an aunt to be reckoned with. And we loved her for it. She was going to become the 'Grand Aunt Cathy' that so many have in their families. She would be the one who would take the kids on great and grand excursions and expeditions....even if it would only be to the Plaza or to a mall.

We had such great plans for and with her. I know that she had plans too. She retired so recently - in September of last year. By Halloween, she began a serious spiral that ended with us saying the rosary around her on Monday as her breaths were numbered. By 8:45, she had left us...quietly, calmly, but certainly.

So, take care of your folks. Your aunts - leave none unkissed. Speak to your uncles. Shake their hands on greeting and leaving. They have vast amounts of pride in YOU that you don't deserve. Truly! They see things in you that you can't see yourself. They have expectations in you that you can only asipire to accomplish, and when you do, you'll never have better cheerleaders. And when you don't, they won't see the failure. They will only see the next opportunity for you to succeed. And they will pull for you all along that way!

Let's hope that once they pass from this life to the next, that they can pull even harder from the other side.

God welcome you, Cathy Cullum and take you into His arms and give you the greatest bear hug that I will miss giving you for the rest of my life.

Superbowl Sunday!!!

"Negativity is an addiction to the bleak shadow that lingers around every human form ... you can transfigure negativity by turning it toward the light of your soul.' - JOHN O'DONOHUE, Anam Cara: A Book of Celtic Wisdom.

On a day like today, where there are NO Chiefs at the Superbowl AGAIN, and it's gray, bleak and spitting something like hail outside, and no one is shopping Downtown, what can I say from the light of my soul? - Well, I will say that YOU are reading this right now. And that matters to me!
Have a very sunny day today and take a look at your shining light! I felt it from here!

Chuck

John O'Donohue - a guide for life today

John O'Donohue, an ex-priest in the West of Ireland, was a philosopher and poet for our times. Sadly and too soon, he passed away recently. His memorial serevice was held today at noon in the Galway cathedral. He will be sorely missed by those who love the inspired written word and thought provoking poetry.

I appreciate - love the written word. One of my other poet - heroes was Sister Mary Faith Schuster, a Benedictine from Atcheson Kansas. I think that Sister Faith and John would have been great friends. I hope that their paths crossed at some time. I met and spent time with Sister at a retreat while I was in college. We spent the night in a high school chapel praying and just talking. But it was like talking to God Himself. Quiet, mostly dark, we sat on the marble floor talking while the candle flames flickered on the wall. We said the rosary, but it was slow, with some life affirming banter in between each decade. She was such an artist. She moved me back to the center that I had moved from, gently, calmly, using a whispered voice. What a gift she was. I miss her. Lots of people miss her. She had this affect on everyone she encountered.

John O'Donohue speaks the same way to me now, although I never got to meet him. I am reading his book, Anam Cara right now. I was afraid to tackle it. John is an academic, and I don't have a lot of patience (or intelligence) to read anything deeper than the newspaper. But his whole life's work has been the examination of the need for inclusion in this world that we live in. It is increasingly hard to belong to anything or to form much af an attachment to anything anymore, sadly. John says that it's because we've lost track of who owe are and where we are in this life. He provides some fantastic illustrations to help the reader recognize their place.

I'm going to try to include something from John in my blogs, and hope to help spread the word about this wonderfully brilliant, and spiritual Irishman.

Slan for now.
Chuck

Shrimp Dinners at Redemptorist

It's getting to that time for Lenten dietary adjustments. You know, fish on Fridays. Give up that chocolate. No movies till after Easter. Lent. It seems like we just put the Christmas ornaments away, and here it's Lent already. (wait, we DID just put the Christmas ornaments away. Janet's been after me to vacuum up the artificial Christmas Tree needles up, and move that Santa Claus off of the hutch in the dining room.) Anyway, if you haven't attended a Hibernian Shrimp event, you have missed out on a great Downtown Tradition.

You can't get a better plate of shrimp in the city. Shrimp, baked potato, coleslaw and corn all for an extremely reasonable price. And the company!! I see folks get together yearly at Redemptorist, just for the company. And I usually get to work the foodline. That's my favorite. I love seeing the people. The guys who put the dinner together, Bill Quinn, Don Burnett, Steve Page, John Phelan, Frank Stapleton, Tombo Burke, Jim Callahan, Tom Laughlin and all - it's a great time of working together. Everyone's in such a great mood and the whole thing works together like a machine.

I just look forward to it each year and work as many of them as I can.

Make it a family tradition.

Man shot while in jaws of crocodile

An Australian crocodile farmer who found himself caught in the jaws of a deadly saltwater crocodile is recovering after being accidentally shot by the friend who came to rescue him.
The Northern Territory News reported that Zac Fitzgerald and Jason Grant were collecting eggs in Marrakai Station, about 120km east of Darwin on Tuesday night.
Local police said the crocodile suddenly emerged from the water, grabbing Mr Grant by the lower right arm.
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His colleague Mr Fitzgerald rushed to his aid, shooting at the crocodile and causing it to let go of Mr Grant.
However he then fired again and shot his friend in the upper right arm.
Despite this, their boss from the Darwin Crocodile Farm, Mick Burns, insisted Mr Fitzgerald's actions probably saved the other man's life.
'Jason said to me: 'Thank God he's a good shot',' he told the local paper.
Mr Burns said his injured worker was in good spirits, despite a suspected broken arm and bite damage in addition to the bullet wound.
Mr Burns said: 'His first words to me were: 'I don't think I'll be at work for a couple of days.'

...I believe that this poor fellow has my luck, but he certainly dosen't share my attitude. His saving light is some one who came and shot him while he's being munched on by a prehistoric reptile. And then he's THANKFUL that he was a good shot!! He's gotta be a half-full kind of guy. God bless him!

Pray for decent weather tomorrow!! At least no ice!

Glee in all things Irish

When we start working on the Irish season in earnest, which is just about now, you begin to see the glee in the eyes of the folks who collectively bring their ideas and passions to share around the table. It's a wonderful thing to see, and it seems like you get to share your childhood all over again. This time with a different set of people. And it's sooo good.

I see it with my Hibernian brothers. Their spontaneous idea flow can be hard to keep up with. And we usually get fantastic results and have fun doing it.

I've seen it with the Kansas City St. Patrick's Day Parade team. Talk about a well oiled machine! I had the privelidge to sit in when I could on their board. They have so much to accomplish, you wonder how it will ever result in a parade. Yet, they do it. And they do it with flourishes and extras that you wouldn't think could ever happen. And they are a whole lot of fun!

I have it in my Emerald Isle Parade team in Lee's Summit. We're not at all as professional as our Big brother parade Downtown KC, but we have a great team who knows no border or boundary. All of us are hell bent to bring a great Community event to Lee's Summit, and we want to continue to see the joy in our Community as a result of the parade and related events. We loved seeing the residents of Green Street bring their living room furniture out to the front yard and set up for the parade. Who would have thought that would happen? We saw it continue as we came back down the parade route afterward and saw those same folks still outdoors, now bar-b-queing to fill out the rest of the day. What a perfect day! What fun! What a great family activity!

I think that the common element that I seee in all of the Irish Parade teams, the Bands, the Irish Fest organizers, and our surrounding community is GLEE. Here's what Websters says about Glee:

glee /gli/ noun 1. open delight or pleasure; exultant joy; exultation

To see exultant joy in the eyes of an adult, performing tasks as menial as blowing up balloons, or thinking about how to arrange a stage or what to do with a herd of chihuahuas in a parade line-up is really a satisfying thing. It's Glee. It's GOOD.

Mondays in the retail world

Mondays are blue days. Even on great unseasonal days like today. Aside of the fact that it's really windy today, the temp is unbelievable. The shopping should be grand, but it's just so slow. But that just gives me the chance to do the things that I am supposed to be doing...inventory, flyers and parade clerical work.

By the way, I am selling Elders tickets NOW. The Elders Annual Hooley is going to be at the Uptown Theatre, March 15, 2008 at 7:30 P.M. The tickets are available on-line, but hey, why pay the ticketmaster premium price when you can get them here? I have table tickets for $35.00 each and I have General Admission tickets for $25.00. You know by now, what a great time you'll have! So come on out and purchase your tickets now!

I am also selling tickets to another venue that is close to my heart; The Missouri Valley Folklife Society is producing a Metro Artist Concert, "A Scottish Legacy Night" Singers, musicians and pipers and dancers led by Hazel Whyte. Also featured will be Bill Morris,, David McNally, and Ian McKee from St. Andrews pipe Band. There will be Highland Competition Dancers from Libby Lee's School of Scottish Dance. Brett Gibson, and Shane Borth from the group Flannigan's Right Hook will play too! What a night! All for just $15.00 per ticket. The fun starts Saturday, February 9, 2008 at 8:00 P.M. at the Community Christian Church, 4601 Main Street, in KCMO. (That's the White Frank Loyd Wright Church on the Plaza.) Come on and support MVFS. I have their tickets too!

Finally...for now, Downtown Lee's Summit will have a nice event that day, February 9. The merchants will have a Chocolate Crawl from 10:00 till 5:00 P.M. Collect chocolate all over Downtown, from merchants displaying balloons in front of their shops. And register for your Ultimate Valentine's Day Package including dinner for 2 at Ciao! Bella, Wine and Dessert at Bailey's Wine Bar, a Chocolate basket from A thyme For Everything, a Chocolate Candy Facial from Eye Candy Clinic, and a photo shoot from Couples Photo Shoot. WOW!!! And all that chocolate! See, Lees Summit is coming back and we're a lot of fun! Old Buildings - new ideas.. It all starts here! Come and see!

Welcome to my post!

Gra Geal Mo Chroi...What does it mean? You say that you can't read Gaelic? Well either can I , but I do know a couple of phrases, and this one pertains to the love of my life, my partner in all things, Janet, my wife of 32 years. This phrase translates to "Bright love of my life" or "Love of my Heart" and that pretty much sums it up for me. It also describes another interest in my life, all things Irish. It's my work passion.

So, come on, hitch up and join my post. I'm Chuck Denton and I own an Irish goods store in Lee's Summit Missouri, named for my dad's Grandma and Grandpa, Ruth and Elmer Sullivan, and my wife, Janet's Grandma and Grandpa, Gladys and William Doherty. Our shop is called 'Doherty & Sullivan's Irish Goods.' We are also half of the originators of the Emerald Isle St. Patrick's Day Parade in Lee's Summit. We share this with Mary Pechar of the Green Beauty and Day Spa. (She's my neighbor).

Come on out and visit if you're in the neighborhood. It's a small shop but full of good will and a little gossip. We have a teapot on most every day, and we can evn accomodate a small tea if you are interested. Lee's Summit is a quaint area just recovering from a major home redo that affected every one of its Downtown Merchants. But we're coming back and we can't wait until Spring when warmer weather draws our crowd back to find our new gussied up image, and shops that sprang up over the winter.

On this blog, I plan to include news for our parade team, news about the shop and Irish events happening in Lee's Summit. For instance, Did you know that we are a local source for the Elders tickets? We are delighted to be able to do this for them again. Ask for details by calling me at 816 524-7151. The event is at the Uptown Theatre, on March 15th. Call me for more info! And don't forget to stop by!

CD