Happy St. Patrick's Day
Pleasant surprises abound across this great country, some of them in the most unexpected places. Ordinarily. Savannah would host one of those wonderful annual surprises today. At 10:15, rain or shine, the Saint Patrick's Day parade would step off for the 192nd time. Almost half a million people would line the streets and squares of this historic city to watch a family-friendly event. Alas, there will be no parade this year but that hasn't kept thousands of revelers from visiting the city this week. Organizers have worked hard over the past years to keep the "Saint" and sanity in the holiday, confining most of the adult partying to River Street following the parade. It's only since the arrival of "the book"- Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil - and the discovery of Savannah as a significant tourist destination that issues with irreverent activities became serious on St. Patrick's Day. [See "A Night[and Day] in Old Savannah," August 23, 2008, for details.]
My first parade there was in 1978 when I lived in the downtown historic district. Over the years, I lost count as the events merged one into the other during my eleven years in the Coastal Empire. Eventually, our children became Irish for a day and were part of the parade. They sat on the folded top of a hot convertible and waved their green, white and orange flags to the crowds. They have plenty of ancient Celtic ancestry from Scotland and Wales, but nothing so far from Ireland. Fortunately, even Savannah's old Irish families happily forgive that sin. They seek only great fun for themselves and their neighbors, often complemented with fine spring weather and tens of thousands of azaleas blooming throughout the city.
My first parade there was in 1978 when I lived in the downtown historic district. Over the years, I lost count as the events merged one into the other during my eleven years in the Coastal Empire. Eventually, our children became Irish for a day and were part of the parade. They sat on the folded top of a hot convertible and waved their green, white and orange flags to the crowds. They have plenty of ancient Celtic ancestry from Scotland and Wales, but nothing so far from Ireland. Fortunately, even Savannah's old Irish families happily forgive that sin. They seek only great fun for themselves and their neighbors, often complemented with fine spring weather and tens of thousands of azaleas blooming throughout the city.
From our house to yours, may you have a safe and happy St. Patrick's Day wherever the day finds you!
Sources
Photos and Illustrations:
St. Patrick photo, oca.org
postcards, author's family archive
Sources
Photos and Illustrations:
St. Patrick photo, oca.org
postcards, author's family archive
No comments:
Post a Comment