A collection of short stories and poetry based a family's struggle for survival in the Old World, during the 1950s in Ireland, when unemployment was rampant. They had to tip-toe around the local high and mighty and hide their fear of the English, the Church and hunger behind a veil of laughter. They were no match a'tall for these Old World powers that used them. Thank god, all things change with time -- these Old World powers are crumbling right in front of us. Ye will laugh and ye may even cry at this account of every-day life of the unemployed and their struggle to survive hunger and poverty. Some families were lucky to survive long enough to make their way to America, and thank god America took the Irish in by the millions. The Fairies must have been watching over them, for the Irish fit right in; they were the right colour, they spoke English (their own Irish version of it) and they worshiped the same god, so to speak. No sooner did they set foot on American soil, they worked and worked and soon got their pride back and were often able to feed their families at home too. If 'twasn't for the Fairies watching over the Irish people, ye might not hear this side of their story. Ye must have the courage to pass on the true story of our survival that made us who we are today. Author's note: It has taken me years to get the courage to publish our story -- I'm sure my courage comes from my mam telling me to show the world how we were treated back then, when Ireland was in a bad state and over-run by outside powers. Without our Irish humor and America's generosity to take us in and give us a second chance, god knows what would have become of us. Thank God for the New World.