Even in the Cold the Oil Is Too Dear

In a weak voice, Mary told RTE's radio presenter Joe Duffy that she was back in her bed under an electric blanket at 2 p.m. trying to stay warm as Ireland suffered for another day of bitter cold and snow. She wasn't going to turn on the oil heat until later in the evening because in extreme recessionary times, this pensioner weighed the cost of oil against her own comfort and made the choice. Mary had the radio and a book for company and said she was doing fine.
After last week, with the IMF coming in and taking over the country's finances, the Irish couldn't catch a break. What followed was bitter cold here in the first week of December.
And then I read about the emigration of the young Irish families to New York or back to New York in many cases.
Years ago I naively asked older Irish-born people in Brooklyn why they ever left such a gorgeous country. It was for jobs then and it's for jobs now.
Heartbreaking. Will this new generation ever get the chance to go home?