Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Today is St. Patrick's Day, although the big celebration here in Denver was actually yesterday.  I went with my friend Mark to watch a soccer game in the morning between Newcastle and Bournemouth with the local Newcastle Fan Club at the Celtic Tavern, but sneaked out to watch the St. Patrick's Day Parade for a bit.  This parade is reputed to be one of the largest St. Patrick's Day parades west of the Mississippi, with an annual attendance of around 200,000.   And of course, there were lots of people in green interacting with the crowds, as seen in the photograph on the left.  It reminds me of the time my friends Steve Davis, Paul something-or-other and I spent an evening at a bar called Skeleton's West back in Forest Park, Illinois (just west of Chicago), and two leprechauns bought us drinks all night.  But that was a long time ago, and I digress.

I was kind of surprised at how many non-Irish groups participated in the parade, such as the Colorado Parrot Head  Club, which seemed to have a distinctly tropical feel about them, which I have never associated with Ireland.  But what the heck.  As the news stations continuously tell us, everyone is Irish on St. Patrick's Day, and the more the merrier. The Parrot Head Club seems to have a heck of a lot of members, and a great many of them followed the official Parrot Head Float wearing the official Parrot Head hat and the obligatory Parrot Head grass skirt.  Whatever floats your boat, as we used to say.

And of course, what Denver parade would be worth attending  without the obligatory horse-drawn wagon, melding the Irish culture with the spirit of the west.  After I took the photograph on the left, I needed to head back to the Celtic Tavern to finish watching the Newcastle - Bournemouth soccer match, which ended in a 2 - 2 tie.  And as we drove away from downtown, I could not help but notice that the parade was still going on, and would probably continue going on for hours.  I suspect they must give prizes to the parade goers who are able to stay for the entire 7 hours.  And I am not criticizing, of course, just making an observation.