Rochester, NY
2:02 AM
As I have said, this is my first winter in Rochester since high school. I didn’t know what the big deal was for the St. Patrick’s Day parade. The papers were writing about it. All of my different groups of friends were asking me if I was going. “We’re getting started at 9 in the morning,” they said. These guys don’t do anything at 9 AM, so I knew it must be a big event.
I had been set to go for a week or so. There were many friend factions that I’d meet downtown. As is the case, nothing was really set, other than we knew the cell phones would ring and someone would be here and someone else would be there.
I stayed out longer than planned on Friday night, but darts can do that to me sometimes. Rob and I had been losing so we kept playing. We ended on a loss. It was close to 2 AM. I had breakfast plans in the morning, so I was not on top of my game when I woke up today.
I got out of bed and felt OK, just worn down. From what I was told, this was going to be a long day. Most all of my friends stayed home on Friday to prepare. Being the rookie that I am, I was not running on a full tank. But, I showered, shaved and headed out the door for breakfast. It was tasty: eggs with tomatoe, onion, mushrooms, and cheese along with hash browns, ham, and toast. Some started at 9, we kicked off the day at 10:30.
After breakfast and some lounging, we left for downtown at 11:30. The parade started at 12:30. As winter days go, this was a good one. It was sunny with a few clouds and it was mid 30’s. Yes, for those southern readers, mid-30’s was welcomed. I had my sunglasses on as we rolled down the highway listening to some Irish Van Morrison.
As I drove my ever-thinking mind plotted a good plan. I knew parking would be horrible near East and Alexander streets. I had told some people that is where I’d be. We were somewhat pressed for time. I didn’t want to miss the start of my first parade of any kind in I don’t know how long. Rather than driving around hunting for a spot, I called my sister and even though she was just waking up, she agreed to drive us the 2 miles from her house and drop us off. “We have a chauffer,” I told a friend as he asked where we were parking.
It worked out like a charm. Many roads were blocked off. There were many cars creeping along with heads on a swivel. We of course knew where we were going so we were perturbed by this slowness. Caytie let us off a block away and we walked to the corners of East and Alexander. This is a hot spot at night, with many bars lining the streets. It was different to be down there during the daylight.
We found our spot in front of Monty’s Korner. It is a St. Patty’s Day parade so we went in and ordered two Harp’s (It was too early for Guinness). And then we stood outside and waited for friends. The beer tasted good. We were prepared with layers, hats, and gloves. Something my friends were jealous of as the day wore on.
The group formed, the sidewalks filled and the bagpipes played. There is something about bagpipes. I’m not sure if it is in me because of my heritage, but I could listen to those pipes for hours. The parade began. We did not want to lose our place in/near the bar, so we were not on the front lines. This hurt our viewing, but I learned the Parade is more about the social aspect than it is the waving and looking at floats.
I did not really expect Rose Bowl Parade or Mardi Gras floats, but I was expecting more than flatbeds and fire trucks. But it was what it was, so we yelled and waved and smiled and cheered one another. There was a slight breeze, but we hung in there and paid homage to all of the participants. We all knew someone who was going to be in the parade, but I didn’t see my people. The procession went on and on, for about 90 minutes. Cannons went off, bands marched, batons twirled, and Irish dancers danced.
It was good for me to see Rochester in force. There were people of all ages, decked out in their green. I had my one green shirt on but you couldn’t see it because of my jacket. My friend had green antennae on that was given to her.
I ran into a guy I had not seen since college. He and I worked together at a golf course and also share a hilarious story. It took him a second to recognize me, but we rehashed the story. He and I were hired to paint his parents house one summer. It was a nice sunny day and we were working on the wide side of the house. It had no windows and went up two stories plus the attic. We had the ladder out and he was up, not all the way to the top, but maybe 2/3 of the way up. I was holding the ladder as the land pitched down from the house.
Bees had been an issue the whole time we were painting and one decided it was going to come and get me. I held the ladder. He painted. The bee swooped in, circling. I looked at it and tried to brush it away with my head. Of course a head swivel does nothing. I then took a hand off the ladder, with foot hold still in place, and swooshed at it. That only made it mad. I think that was the summer there was a lot of press about African Bees invading America. Something like that. The bee came at me again and landed on me. In a freak out move, I took both hands off of the ladder and swatted and then released my foot hold. I backed away. I am not sure if the painter had heard me battling the fiercest of African bees, but down the ladder went. It did not teeter anywhere, it just came straight down towards me. As did the painter. He slid down the house and landed on top the ladder. The paint and brush fell to the ground. I forgot about the bee and made my way over. “You should have seen the look on your face,” he told me today with a smile.
Lucky for me, he was not hurt. After a few minutes of adrenaline and shock, we laughed about it. I apologized profusely. I overcame my bee fear that day. I also did much more painting than ladder holding from that point on.
Back to the parade. I was told people started early for this. I didn’t see the evidence of drunkenness until after the parade ended and people went into the nearby pub’s to warm up. I was witness to some stumbling and balance issues. All in all, it was a peaceful day, although I was mad to witness my Tar Heels lose.
The day did not end with parade. This is why no one went out last night. We went into the bars, stayed there for a while, and then went to a house party. We mingled about. I saw my friend Sean’s parents who I had not spoken with in many years. It was good to see them and cool for me to hear that they kept up on my travels. We caught up and the party continued. At about 6 we decided to leave. It was rest time. The Syracuse game came on at 8 and I wanted to see it.
A nap was a bad move, but an Andrew was needed. We both crashed out for a little bit at Caytie’s place. C was a good influence on us because she had not been parading all day. She brought an energy to us that did not allow us to stay sleeping. We groggily woke up and went back out the bars, to see the SU game. The same people from the parade were there and were now the ones with balance issues. They had not napped the true St. Patty Day warriors that they are.
I was zonked out. There was a lot going on, but I had a drink or two and some Acme pizza. Good pizza: big, thin slices. We left at midnight and that was my St. Patrick’s Day parade. A cool parade and a social whirlwind.