In my time here in Roanoke Ive discovered something.

A) this place looks great after storms.
B) theres a true sense of community here.
C) cellphones should be banned while driving, at penalty of death.
And D) as wonderfully diverse as Roanoke is, its lacking something.

Something it kinda had a year or two ago. Something that brings out the chest-thumping pride in a community, if done right.

Remember this place?
303 S Jefferson St.

Think.. think.. it might just come to you.

It was Kara O'Caens Irish Pub.

Fairly well world-renown Kara O's. It was listed in Irish Travel Guides for those coming over here as a slice of home.

Roanoke is as well.

Having traveled to Ireland in my youth, I can clearly remember the landscape, Dublin at night, the moon on Galway Bay.

It's not all that far off from Roanoke. Granted, its a bit warmer in the summer and a bit cooler in the winter, but Roanoke's climate is not all that far off from Dublin, and the rolling hills and mountains are near on a dead match.

Much like Roanokers, the Irish are warm and willing (for the most part). Fierce pride in their local teams, pride in those who protect and serve.

And pride in the history and the people who make up each town and village.

When I was last up at UVA for an extended stay there was a conference on "Re-Imagining Ireland" with guest speakers for miles lined up to talk about the new Irish economy, the 'new' Ireland itself.

Ireland is now home to many Microsoft offices, many eCommerce companies, and many many computer-related industries. The list of "Celtic Tiger" industries reads like a who's who of the computer world: Microsoft, Oracle, IBM just to name a few.

As a matter of fact, if you head over to Dublin's home page it reads amazingly like Roanokegov.com right down to the "City of Possibilities: Strategy 2012" section.

Even transportation is an issue, as Dublin struggles with the idea of building a Metro in the next decade.

So Dublin is not all that different from Roanoke. Point being???

Well, Dublin has one thing that Roanoke does not. Gathering places, meeting spots, bars, clubs, pubs - call them what you want. No place for the armchair pundits to get together to "hang an elbow" and discuss the daily goings on of life in the Star City.

From what I understand, back when it first opened Kara O's was like that. Still is according to some websites.

Roanoke has the Knights of Colombus, the Knights of Pythias, a large handful of Civic leagues. Its Ancient Order of Hibernians is just beginning to find its legs again, and judging by this years St. Patrick's Day Parade, they've got a good foothold.

There are plenty of Celts in SW Virginia, and Roanoke is no exception. But a City with as large of a St. Pat's Day parade as we have, and no Irish pub to go to afterwards is missing something.

And its not so much the Irish themselves that Roanoke is missing, it's the Irish thought. The communal gathering on a regular basis (outside of church) is important in ways that are hard to put into words, but easy to understand once you've seen it at work.

Imagine if you will leaving Roanoke forever, never to return - but finding near your new home a place where people who have also left Roanoke hang out. It brings the community back to you, even though you are not there.

Also imagine staying in Roanoke forever, but losing touch with those in your high school graduating class due to life getting in the way. Do you really want to wait for your X-Year Reunion to see them again? To the Irish mindset, this is a crime. A person needs people to celebrate life with, mourn losses with, and a place to remove himself from life and just be for a while.

I can clearly remember my first trip to an Irish pub in NYC, I walked in on an off night as the bar was just beginning to fill. I saw faces which were vaguely familiar, in that friendly sort of way. The band, well no - not a band per say, the loosely congealed group of musicians were taking their place on the stage for the Traditional Irish Session (where musicians of all levels will come and sit in for a song or two with a few main players leading the group). I ordered a Cider (personal thing, don't ask) and sat at the far end of the bar away from the band and closest to the door (incase I decided to make a quick exit, being there alone and all).

Within minutes I was deep in conversation about somesuch or other with probably 3-4 other people, including the bartender who had only been in America for 2 months. Later that night myself and the guy who I was talking with most of the night were challenged to a game of pool by a pair of young lasses who were over on Work Visas. Well, after 3 rounds of the most schitzophrenic pool I have ever played, it was back out front to the bar for the last set in the Session. We all bought eachother drinks, and then it was out the door and back to my normal life.

A few weeks later, I went to an Irish-named bar in my own town and left before the suds were off the first cider. It was not the same, even the people I knew in there were not talking. They just kind of stared off into space... The pooltable was empty and dusty, the bar was nearly vacant - all the business having gone next door into the attached restaurant. The jukebox had no Irish music, although I would assume that on St. Pats day they do play Danny Boy endlessly. There was no stage. No lilting accents.

Even the local Fire Department's Emerald Society held its annual St. Pats Day party at another bar, one with an ambiguous name. Now that right there is a crime.

And time and time again when I returned to that bar in NYC, I was always met with smiling faces and conversations - even when I had not been for 6 months, they were still ready to welcome a new face to the crowd.

Thats what I've discovered about Roanoke. Its got the smiling faces, and warm conversations - just no place to have them.

(file this one under late-night editorials)