off to sleep knowing there will be a breakfast of eggs, fried tomatoes and  fried bread, tea with lashings of sugar and milk and, later in the day, a big dinner of mashed potatoes, peas and ham, and a trifle Mam makes, layers of fruit and warm delicious custard on a cake soaked in sherry. When Dad brings home the first week’s wages and the weather is fine Mam takes us to the playground. She sits on a bench and talks to Minnie MacAdorey. She tells Minnie stories about characters in Limer- ick  and  Minnie  tells  her  about  characters  in  Belfast  and  they  laugh because there are funny people in Ireland, North and South.Then they teach each other sad songs and Malachy and I leave the swings and see- saws to sit with them on the bench and sing, A group of young soldiers one night in a camp Were talking of sweethearts they had. All seemed so merry except one young lad, And he was downhearted and sad. Come and join us, said one of the boys, Surely there’s someone for you. But Ned shook his head and proudly he said I am in love with two, Each like a mother to me, From neither of them shall I part. For one is my mother, God bless her and love her, The other is my sweetheart. Malachy and I sing that song and Mam and Minnie laugh till they cry at the way Malachy takes a deep bow and holds his arms out to Mam at the end. Dan MacAdorey comes along on his way home from work and says Rudy Vallee better start worrying about the competition. When we go home Mam makes tea and bread and jam or mashed potatoes with butter and salt. Dad drinks the tea and eats nothing. Mam says, God above, How can you work all day and not eat? He says,The tea is enough. She says, You’ll ruin your health, and he tells her again that food is a shock to the system. He drinks his tea and tells us stories and shows us letters and words in the Daily News or he smokes a ciga- rette, stares at the wall, runs his tongue over his lips. When Dad’s job goes into the third week he does not bring home the wages. On Friday night we wait for him and Mam gives us bread 24