Happy Saint Patrick's Day

"If you're Irish, come into the parlor, there's a welcome mat for you..."...is part of a very giddy, very silly, Irish song, that I'll hear, every March...as I load up on the Irish music, watch the great parades, chow down on some corned beef & cabbage, and throw down some Guinness, of course, even...

That's just a given, because I get Saint Patrick's Day fever, pretty damn bad...come rain or shine, every single year...and right now, in the merry month of March...I'd like to take you back to some of my grand old memories of Saint Paddy's Day past...surely, that will bring a smile or two.

I'll start off, by going way, way, back...the little rambunxious 4 year old tyke, me, sneaking up to my parents bedroom on 86th Street and jumping up and down, on my parents giant bed...It was my spongy-bungy trampoline, of course, and I truly was lucky, I didn't crack open my head, from my flopping all about...

And while I was up there, I'd pry open my Mom's jewelry box, and there would be a whole slew of Irish buttons, you would stick onto your chest, to wear for Paddy's Day...They were all humorous or clever...and I'd always try to figure out, which one, I'd wear, next Paddy's Day. Of course, KISS ME, I'M IRISH was in there...I'M WITH THE F.B.I-FULL BLOODED IRISH another silly one...SURE N' BGORA...and just a dozen or more, buttons with green shamrocks and leprechauns...There had to be a silly one about GREEN BEER, in there, also...

And every single one of us kids, had to be wearing GREEN, no matter what, on Saint Patrick's Day...and absolutely wearing one of those crazy Irish buttons, displaying them proudly, before we were let out that door, by our Mom...on March 17th, back in the day...yes...

My Mom, of course, decorated our house, to the hilt for this big day...and I'd love to see all those funny, funny cardboard signs, of all the silly looking Leprechauns and such, that my Mom had plastered on the walls, all over the place...back then...

Anybody with the GREEN FEVER got it from my MOM in our house...How could you not, with a name like O'Leary...on the hearty South-Side of Chicago...which seemed 50% Irish back then. And that O'Leary name, brought a smile, to quite a many, because the Chicago Fire of 1871, which decimated the city, was caused by Mrs. O'Leary's cow...unfortunately...the legend tells...

And I swear, every time, we stood at a checkout, anywhere in the city, once someone saw the O'Leary name on my Mom's check, they had to ask..."Are you related to the O'Leary's that had the cow...that started the fire"...and they'd always burst out laughing, because my Mom, always came up with a silly, hilarious answer to the question, every time...She wasn't even an O'Leary, she was a Griffin, thru and thru...but it was an endless phenomenon, she had to deal with, on a daily basis...every day...it seemed...

Back to the festivities of March 17th...The day itself...always seemed a bit chilly and mostly wet...which, of course, reflects the weather of Ireland, to some extent...But it did not matter, I never felt one rain drop, or not one single shiver...as I headed down to the parade, in the heart of Downtown Chicago...as a young lad...with my Tommy More buddies...

We'd take the WESTERN AVE. bus at 79th Street, then inevitably hop on the ARCHER EXPRESS, which ran diagonally, deep down, all the way down, to downtown...We'd all be deliriously happy because every Catholic school on the South-Side always gave us that day off, always, and we made the most of every minute...

As we got off the bus, on State Street...we were in awe of this amazing city, Chicago...Gobs of people, everywhere, the buildings just towered way over, our eye's reach...We kinda had to pinch ourselves, that we had a wild day, planned ahead, waiting for us, as we made our way over to DEARBORN Street...where the parade route would assemble and go down...

But first, we'd scamper like fools, all the way up to LAKE Street, to see them, dye the river GREEN for that day...It was cooler than cool, to see that muddy, dank, dark water, suddenly come to life with a bright, lime green glow, as a quick-jetting fishing boat dumped an enormous amount of an ORANGE POWDER, that mixed into the water, and turned it bright green, instantly...

Then we'd visit each float, there, still waiting, to get into place, to take that magical ride down the parade route, amidst the throngs, of wild, screaming people...It was pure, crazed excitement for us kids, the pandemonium of all of this going down...I can remember running up to the Channel 7 float and saying HI to tv newscasters, Fahey Flynn & Joel Daley, wearing green carnations, smiling from ear to ear...And Channel 2 were giving out GREEN FRISBEES that I kept and cherished for years and years and years...

Just a great adventure of nothing-of-its-kind...fun...Alot of those wild guys, loading onto their floats, were already...3-sheets-to-the-wind...(blind drunk)...and all the ladies had a magical glow, wearing their beautiful costumes and such...There were horses, which was a true oddity for us city kids...and just a whole jamboree of unexpected silliness, that people conjoured up, to bring a hearty laugh, to one and all...

We are talking thousands and thousands of people, massed together, during the day, when tipping a few drinks and loud crazy antics were abound, all over...just purely a given, that day...

As we got older, certainly beer, got thrown into the equation, for us maulers, out of Tommy More...and I'll just throw 2 little fun facts out of the many, that unfolded, that special day...

On one, very cold & chilly, wicked wet & frigid, Paddy's Day, me & my friends stumbled past a big RV sporting a huge BUDWEISER logo, on its side...Well, me and a few of my buddies, Moodo, Slim, Fitz and a few others, talked our way, into this RV...to get a look...of this huge monstrosity. As we looked, about, someone, came up, and started handing us beers, Budweiser, of course, (our favorite) and we settled in, and sat, and watched the whole parade, all warm & cozy, thrusting down, free beers, left and right...

You are probably wondering...How old were we...???...

Probably somewhere between 15-16 years old...Hahaha...That's the Irish for you...Never to young to get the youth of tomorrow, off to a good start...on Saint Paddy's Day...

Another funny Paddy's story....was after the parade was over, one time...we wandered over to the newly erected Sears Tower, (1974)...the tallest building in the world...Well, hell, we had to see what that was all about...So, in we fled, onto the elevators, and up we go....

There, inside the elevators, our eardrums begin to pop, from ascending so rapidly upward, all of us in a dizzy-dizzy spin...feeling as if, we were in a rocket ship, headed for the moon...One of my buddies noticed, the sign that read, it cost $5 to get off at the top floor, Sky Deck and look out, the huge, humoungous, panoramic view of the city...

Well, a bunch of my buddies, had no dough left, so they devised this plan, to get off, one floor early, then sneak up the fire escape, to the top floor...Boom...a bunch get off the elevator some one hundred and some stories up...and go on their wicked way...while us fortunate few, went one floor higher...and got off...and felt so totally perplexed by the sparkling view of the city, from every conceivable angle...It was Playboy Club Day, too...or something, and Hugh Hefner's gorgeous bunnies, were all walking about...and us kids, were pretty much, in awe, of this little goldmine, we stumbled upon.

And we waited and waited for our other buddies, to get up that fire escape and enjoy the view or should I say, views, of everything, and anything, all about...It suddenly dawned on me...Those guys probably got caught, and sent away, when they tried to pull off such a stunt, so us lucky ones were roaring with laughter, from our hilarious viewpoint...after about 10 minutes had past...

And after a great time, sadly, we had to leave the Sky Deck, up on top of the tallest building of the world, SEARS TOWER, and went back down and down, rapidly...back to ground level...looking all about for our other buddies, but they were nowhere to be found...

Then, after about 10 minutes more, all of them come stumbling out of the giant skyscraper, exhausted, panting, swearing at us...See, they did get to the top floor entrance to the Sky Deck, but it was locked...as a matter of fact, every single floor below was locked too...so they had to trek down, an endless amount of stairs, pounding and pounding down, every floor, mad as hell, for this little bit of stupidity...that came up and bit them in the ass...

So, we were just bursting out with laughter, at these unfortunate fools, unloading our little tale of good fortune, while they were still aghast, panting away....almost turning blue, from disbelief...All of us there, still wearing green, some had Irish buttons, some had green hats...all of us, with a few beers stuffed into our winter coats...still...reeling in our wild Paddy's Day story, of going to the top of the world, and then some...in our own mischievous, silly way...

Sure, today, the tradition continues, all of my family goes to the South-Side Irish parade, now, on Western Avenue...and my nephew, Eddie Haggerty and his wonderful wife, Meagan, throw together a spectacular early morning bash, before the parade begins...Just a wild hoot, of all of us, drawn together...all of the Great-Grandkids dressed in super-special Paddy's Day, green outfits...dancing all about...as happy as can be...

Just a great deal of fun and merriment...as the Irish music blasts and the beer & Guinness and Irish Whiskey gets cracked open...as soon as the sun comes up...Lots of great food, my sister, Kathy, whips up...too...The Irish Soda Bread...the scones...the scrambled eggs, the corned beef, cut to hot perfection, ready for action...Load on the tangy mustard...the melting meat...onto that fresh baked, rye bread....and wash it all down with some suds...and you are well on your way to heaven...my friend...

And that South-Side parade, gets bigger and bigger every year...The essence of Irish laughter mixed with the essence of Irish pride...are all abound...for all to enjoy...no matter what nationality, you are...Because Saint Patrick's Day, on the South-Side, and all over Chicago, is for, one and all, an experience, you never, ever, ever forget...

So, now, some of you get a sense of that Irish flavor, that seeps out of my soul and down onto paper. For I am an Irish writer, thru and thru...The Irish wit, the Irish silliness and surely a wry Irish way of putting a slant on things...is predominently featured, in every story of my life, and beyond, that I share...with you...

So HAPPY SAINT PATRICK'S DAY...EVERYBODY...I hope it is a great day, a warm day rather than cold...a sunny day rather than downpours...and just a special day, that keeps your minds all a flutter...your hands full of fun...and your hearts soaring with happiness and a joy...you'll always cherish...from year....to year.....to year......