Wearin' O' the Green

Happy St. Patrick's Day!!

Now I have no Irish forebears as far as I know.  My ancestry is English and Prussian or as I like to say a martinet with manners.  But one a year I get an overwhelming urge to wear my argyle green and white socks and my bracelet from Ireland that has a shamrock on it.  This year I even put on green eyeliner.  Why go to all this trouble?

'Tis said that on St. Patrick's Day everyone is Irish.  But it is actually a religious holiday, at least in its origins.  In this country it's seems that it's an excuse for frequently drinking to excess.  In my younger partying days this was one time I rarely went out to drink.  I think it was all the crowds that kept me away.  However, I do remember one time I was out with the fellow I was kind of dating (in that super cool casual way we all affect at times) and he talked the bar owner into letting me sing "Danny Boy" in the bar.  He had heard me sing it earlier and didn't know I had "that voice".  Well, I sang it accapella and nailed that high note perfectly.  That to me was and is the best St. Patrick's Day I ever celebrated. 

So be a bit Irish today.  Listen to some Celtic music.  Wear some green or orange if you wish.  And have a drink on me.  But please, no green beer.  Have a Guiness or a shot of Irish Whiskey (neat).  And:
                                                         May the road rise to meet you,
                                                         May the wind be always at your back,
                                                         May the sun shine warm upon your face,
                                                         The rains fall soft upon your fields and,
                                                         Until we meet again,
                                                         May God hold you in the palm of His hand.