By John Murphy
Mention St. Patrick’s Day and my hometown of San Bruno in the same breath and one name pops up: Rose O’Reilly. I smile just thinking about her.
I glance at her and the hubby John on Facebook and I get a warm, fuzzy feeling – Rose with that mop of red hair and John with his Donegal Handwoven lid.
Besides their Irish good looks (too much blarney, folks?) John and Rose had lovely brogues and sweet dispositions – not to mention the good sense to send their boys Sean, Philip and Michael across the street to play sports for me at John Muir Playground. Actually, I was the winner on that one and it was fun having their little sister Denise along for the ride too.
Oh, and I can’t forget Rose’s “adopted” son, Jimmy Doyle, a Leif Garrett lookalike who lived across the street from the O’Reillys. He mostly ran amok, doing wild jumps on his bike all over town. Jimmy now goes by James and lives in Murrieta, is a retired Naval Chief Petty Officer and, gulp, a grandfather. Where does the time go?
Asked about Mrs. O, James said, “Beautiful mother in every sense of the word – to her three boys who are now men, to her daughter and to a wayward boy who lived just across the street. Strict, yet loving, and a heart bigger than most. Nothing but fond memories.”
Memories? I have a few. Like the time Mrs. O, thankful for my work on the playground, sent a sack lunch over to me while I was working. The contents? Sandwich, potato chips, apple … and a beer! I’m sure I saved the suds for a special occasion.
Or the time I ate dinner at their house and was just about to cut into a pork chop when Mrs. O grabbed my arm and said, “Morphy (that’s what she called me) pick it up with your own two hands, or the boys’ll be getting’ the wrong idea of ya!”
Rose O’Reilly – you gotta love her. I know I do.
Notes: Sean O’Reilly ran cross-country and played guitar at St. Ignatius College Prep and Philip and Michael played football … Denise (O’Reilly) Thompson has two sons, Reilly and Charles, who play sports at Serra High … Mills High basketball coach Rick Hanson lived next to the O’Reillys until fourth grade when the family moved.
Main Street Dog 