O'Brien

Waiting at a cash machine, I am approached by a black man in a beanie who asks if I have any spare change.  It is snowing so I look in my pocket and find a two-pound coin.  I decide that it might be worth something in exchange.  "Is that your new year's resolution, is it?"  He smiles a crooked smile.  He is holding the stub of a cigarette.  "It's a good one".  I express surprise at his answer and ask whether he has Irish roots.  "Nah", he says, "the people who looked after me when I was a kid were Irish so my Mum decided to give me that name".  I raise my eyebrows and nod.  "I know.  Ridiculous isn' it?"  He laughs.  We wish each other a good evening.