MEMORIES OF IRELAND

I've revealed all my stories of Ireland and being Irish. From my English prof who didn't like me-- to falling asleep on a doubledecker --to eating Irish stew at Dukes (twice) in Dublin.

I've called previous St. Patrick's Day blogs "Erin go Braugh."

But I haven't written about the St. Louis St' Patty's Day Parade. My friend, the Sign Man, from Springfield, MO, (yes, I've blogged about Marty, too) called me one day back in the day--probably around the turn of the century--this one, not last one. Being the organizer he is, he wanted to enter a float in the parade. It was more like a high school Homecoming Parade float--a decorated flat bed truck.

Our theme: Mark McGwire and the song "Hit the Road, Jack," which was revised to "Hit the Ball, Mac...it ain't coming back no more, no more.." Kinda hokey? Oh, yeah. But we wore our hard hats, green and labeled with Big Mac, and sang and handed out balloons. We had a beautiful day for it and a great time. I was really surprised at the huge crowd.

Those days with McGwire were fun. So were all the times with Marty Prather. So were my times in Ireland. Life is good on March 17th and being Irish (even for a day) is definitely worth celebrating.