Scotts Valley Mayor Donna Lind took the advice of two young women from Dublin, Ireland, who she met while standing in a two-hour line to kiss the Blarney Stone: She first applied Chapstick.
According to Irish legend, kissing the famous stone in Blarney Castle in Ireland is a pursuit millions have undertaken to gain the gift of eloquence.
Lind said would-be-kissers had to lie on their backs and hold onto support bars while leaning over the castle wall to kiss the famed stone.
Has Lind’s tongue turned to gold?
“We’ll see,” said Lind with a laugh. “We’ll see if it took.”
Lind was part of a group of 10 people associated with the Scotts Valley Chamber of Commerce who took an eight-day trip to Ireland in March. More than 150 people from chambers around the country took part in the adventure.
During the trip, Lind compared experiences with other community leaders.
“It was fun to share our challenges,” Lind said. “They’re overcoming the economy and all the losses, too.”
Lind also took to the links with a set of golf clubs, explored small towns and learned about the potato famine in the 1840s. During one stop, the group visited Queenstown, where the Titanic departed on its maiden — and final — voyage in April 1912.
