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For “Ireland Forever”?!



Poor Kermit, if only he had the wisdom to have some Irish friends to take him out for St. Patrick’s Day. Maybe he would have had better self-esteem. But I understand, see green really isn’t my color either. In fact I do not own anything that is that color. Not a sock, t-shirt, pen, or anything. I never realize this until it is St. Patrick’s Day and I see everyone all decked out. So this year I had to buy myself a little something. Plus I liked the saying.


Besides my niece and nephew who will of course be the cutest kids on the planet on every holiday, I like coming into the city and see drunk people who have ventured waaaaay past the parade route and are stinking drunk at 10 a.m. I can find this amusing because I no longer work in Midtown where the parade route is so I am not swamped with enormous amounts of traffic trying to get around.

I was never a girl that went out to celebrate St. Patty’s Day. I feel like I was always in school or at work especially when it falls on a weekday. The thought never occurs to me since you can drink any day of the year (if you are twenty-one and over, which thankfully I am), although your beer won’t be green unless you dye it yourself. Since I don’t drink beer this too doesn’t phase me.

I love Chicago (http://thequeenoff-ckingeverything.blogspot.com/2014/05/for-wonderful-weekend-in-windy-city.html) and if you have ever been within earshot of me you have heard me say this before. Perhaps you even read my previous St. Patrick’s Day blog (http://thequeenoff-ckingeverything.blogspot.com/2013/03/for-luck-of-irish.html) and learned how special their celebration is. Sadly I have still not made it to the Second City for this holiday but I will have an updated Chicago report coming soon so stay tuned.

I think that the most interesting St. Patrick’s Day I ever spent was back in March 2001 when I was on Spring Break in Cancun, Mexico. That was back during the era that created “Spring Break” where MTV would be shooting live nonstop for weeks. It was where anyone who was anyone went, especially that one prime week we had off in college. Or if you are my BFF the week you cut your midterms to go on this vacation because it’s when we had off. After a few Tequila sunrises I made as a bartender one afternoon, it made perfect sense.

That year on St. Patrick’s Day I made sure to celebrate the way we had been all week. We went to Senior Frog’s and ate dinner, which for me was probably some unmentionable chicken dish. The highlight being the green shamrocks we had painted on our arms. I have absolutely no recollection of getting them but I see the picture we took clear as day in my mind. That is about it, just a singular memory of me, as a twenty year old with a shamrock on my arm, wearing a pink shirt, eating at a table facing the gorgeous view of the water. If I had it my way this would be the way I always celebrate St. Patrick’s Day. As an Italian/Irish American going to Mexico just makes perfect sense. You know that or Chicago. I just want to make sure I mention that again to the cosmos.

If you are going to be in NYC this Thursday you can meet up with Anthony Bourdain on Grand Street for a pub crawl. But my preference would be to go to Pittsburgh (http://thequeenoff-ckingeverything.blogspot.com/2015/01/for-city-of-bridges-pittsburgh-part-i.html) or have Pittsburgh come to you via delivery! The infamous Primanti Bros. are now shipping out their signature sandwiches topped with coleslaw and fries, but for St. Patty’s Day they are making sure to include corned beef so there is something out there for everyone. Check out the links below for more information.

With that I will leave you by saying: “Ireland Forever” or as you would say in my father’s native land “Erin go Bragh”. You see it means the same thing. It took me thirty-four years to realize I had no idea what that meant and to look it up. But I am on the case now.

Someday I hope to visit Ireland so that I may shout both versions from the mountaintops. Or hilltops. But that research will have to wait another year.

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