I was going to publish this at our usual time, but there is so much going on that I decided to make this a special for St. Patrick's Day.
Waiting to line up for the parade on 44th and Madison (Shawn O'Shea)
I'm going to be 45 years old this coming August, and while I've come into the city to watch the St. Patrick's Day parade a handful of times, this year Tara and I decided we would march with the Kingdom of Kerry. Tara has marched before as a kid, but me? Never.
So we met up with Tara's Uncle Shawn and his grandson Colin and headed in on the LIRR. While we were waiting for the train, they kept announcing that alcoholic beverages would not be permitted on the train. They don't announce this all the other Saturday's I take the train to the city. Whatup with that? #stereotyping #profiling
I'll admit I was apprehensive. I'm proud of my Irish heritage, more on that later, but I'm not in any special Irish societies or clubs. Shoot, this August will also mark the 20th anniversary of my one and only trip to Ireland, August 17, 1998 (aka the night Bill Clinton finally admitted he had sexual relations with Monica Lewinsky-but I digress). In other words, I'm not sure my spot in the parade wouldn't have been better served by someone else.
But I have to tell you, I'm glad I did it.
The walk up 5th Avenue is magnificent, even on a day where the wind tore through you like a knife. As I'm sitting here writing this my face is on fire. But the crowds and the spirit are something to behold.
As we marched over here, I wondered aloud if the big guy was home for the weekend, or if he was wolfing down his daily cheeseburger at Mar A Lago. I was just thankful we didn't have to divert around to Madison Ave to avoid the golden palace.
We marched past St. Patrick's Cathedral, the Plaza Hotel, and Central Park, amongst other places. As we were passing the park, we saw what looked like the stand where WNBC was broadcasting the parade. Timmy had said he wanted to get on TV, so we started heading that way. I wasn't sure that we had made it on the air, till Tara and I started getting messages that we had indeed been spotted on TV.
Top: Tara and Timmy say hello to NY
Bottom: No, they didn't start entering floats in the parade this year
(Ray McGarvey)
I'd like to tell you that we made it all the way to 79th Street, but we dropped off at 66th, went for a snack at Dunkin Donuts and called it a day. Like I said, the wind was something fierce. But after Tara and Timmy and Tara's uncles headed back to LI, I walked back to 47th and 6th and the sun was really strong. It had really warmed up.
It was a great day to be in the city, a great day for NY.
A great day to be Irish.
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SURVEY Says WHAT?
A website called Wallethub.com ranked the top cities in the US for their St. Patrick's Day celebrations. The top 5 were
1) Chicago
2) Boston
3) Philadelphia
4) Buffalo
5) New York
They explained the rating system they used was based on factors such as affordability, number of bars, length of traditions and weather, amongst other things.
OK, I think dyeing the Chicago River green is cool, so you want to put Chicago up there, that's fine. Boston? I mean, I know they have a huge Irish population up there, so I can kind of/sort of accept that. But Philly? Come on, I've never heard of any big Irish traditions in Philadelphia. Buffalo? Just the weather alone should disqualify Buffalo from anything, and besides, I've never heard of anyone planning a trip to Buffalo to celebrate St. Patrick's Day. (Come to think of it, I've never heard of anyone planning a trip to Buffalo period. Ace and I stopped there on our way to Toronto for wings, and we ended up in a bar-----owned by a guy originally from Uniondale!)
I realize I'm biased, but NY has got to be the number one place to go for St. Patrick's Day. I realize it's expensive here, but I'm sure Chicago and Boston aren't that much cheaper. The Wallethub study says NYC has the most Irish pubs per capita in the US, and also the fewest DUI related fatalities.
A few more tidbits about this list...
Savannah, GA came in 58th, and I cry foul on that almost as much as NY being in 5th. Savannah by many accounts, has the best St. Patrick's Day in the South.
El Paso, TX came in 75th.- I'd have to consult my cousins in law Kevin and Jessica O'Shea on this one. I was at their wedding in El Paso, and I didn't think, "Wow, I'd really love to spend St. Patrick's Day here. And the closest thing to an Irish bar I saw in El Paso was the makeshift one Tara's cousins put together at the hotel. (We should have called it O'Shea's Poolside Bar and Grill)
Anyway here's the website https://wallethub.com/edu/best-worst-cities-for-st-patricks-day-celebrations/19603/#methodology
Some Music to Enjoy...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C4OlM0lPqcE- Give Ireland Back to the Irish by Paul McCartney and Wings
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ihCmhlVnRDU- The Luck of the Irish by John Lennon
OK, gotta pick it up here a bit, this is a happy day..https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b_4KboYi40I
Wild Rover
FINALLY:
A few of my friends have decided to take do-it-yourself DNA tests to see if they have any other roots besides the ones they have grown up believing they had. This is the kind of thing Sen. Elizabeth Warren did to discover her Native American roots (to the delight of President Trump). I've had folks who thought they were mostly one ethnicity find out they are actually something else altogether.
So count me as someone who won't be spittin' in a cup anytime soon.
Because I don't care what any DNA test tells me, as far as I'm concerned I'm Irish. I love being Irish, I'm proud that the people who came before me overcame the struggles that they did to give us a better life. I love the music (well not ALL the music), the history. The people.
I'm proud to be an American, that's what I am first. Sometimes admittedly obnoxiously so. But I am damn proud of my Irish heritage as well.
And no offense to anybody, but I wouldn't want to be anything else.
Happy St. Patrick's Day
FINALLY:
A few of my friends have decided to take do-it-yourself DNA tests to see if they have any other roots besides the ones they have grown up believing they had. This is the kind of thing Sen. Elizabeth Warren did to discover her Native American roots (to the delight of President Trump). I've had folks who thought they were mostly one ethnicity find out they are actually something else altogether.
So count me as someone who won't be spittin' in a cup anytime soon.
Because I don't care what any DNA test tells me, as far as I'm concerned I'm Irish. I love being Irish, I'm proud that the people who came before me overcame the struggles that they did to give us a better life. I love the music (well not ALL the music), the history. The people.
I'm proud to be an American, that's what I am first. Sometimes admittedly obnoxiously so. But I am damn proud of my Irish heritage as well.
And no offense to anybody, but I wouldn't want to be anything else.
Happy St. Patrick's Day
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