Irish Thought for July 19...

The KCIF KID’S CLUB

Meet Michael

Michael

Life isn't about finding yourself. Life is about creating yourself.
  -George Bernard Shaw

Michael is my different drummer of the team.  His concern for Irish Fest Children is that we provide for them a very safe fun event.  When talking all the fun jobs that we have, Michael has spent the last three years choosing one of the most difficult jobs that we have.  He helps run the Moonwalks, Bounce House and Rock Climbing and he keeps adding to the time he spends doing it, like last year close to 20 hours.    He always checks in, he has a good eye for things that are not going quite right, and makes great mental notes to fix something in the next year.  He also has a candid way of saying things.   Last year, he said it was very difficult for the teenage girls when he had to ask their weight for the bungee jump, so this year he asked for a sign to help them prepare for the question.   It is something he had to know to make the right adjustments, and he hated that he might be embarrassing any one.   I was very proud of him.

He is one of those kids that are able to sit and be comfortable with any age group.  And he always has some nugget to share in any setting.  And if you look at him, you can see behind his eyes a thousand thoughts formatting.

Michael doesn’t talk about himself much. I know he speaks fluent French.  I know he has a great love for his large family, most of which are also involved with the Fest.   And I know he has a special affinity for Barry Fitzgerald, Paranormal Investigator, Photographer, Author, and Scriptwriter.  Many of us have had the great honor to work with Barry as he has been a very special guest and storyteller at the Fest.

If I were Michael, I think my special moment at Irish Fest would be when Barry presented Michael with an autographed book.   I wasn’t sure that Michael would recover from that, but he pulled himself together and went right on helping us out at the Fest.  He only asked if he could attend all of Barry’s shows and then introduced Barry on the Children’s Stage.  It was a special Fest for Michael.