Hello on Wednesday Morning

Dear Friends,



I was at the doors of Retro Fitness at 4:30 AM. The distractions were minimal!



I want to wish everyone a Happy St. Patrick’s Day. We are going to be pretty close to the 60 degree mark today with total sunshine.

God certainly blessed the Irish in the Northeast part of the country today. Well, even if your have no Irish blood in you, people pretend that they are Irish on this day.



It is Evacuation Day in Boston. State offices are shut down including schools in Cambridge and Somerville to celebrate the day that the British, under the command of General Howe, packed up and left Boston after a 11 month siege. General Howe moved his troops and Navy to Nova Scotia. The departure date was on March 17 which happened to be when the Irish celebrate St. Patrick’s Day. When Boston started to grow with a large Irish population, a law was passed in 1941 to make this a legally paid holiday for State workers. There has been a great push to eliminate this paid holiday, but attempts have been unsuccessful so far. Being a liberal Democrat, I think that the tradition should be maintained.



Linda is going to relax until we head off to the Italian American Club this evening for the 6:30 PM Corned Beef & Cabbage Dinner. I have two full tables of friends who will be joining us, 9 at our table, and 8 Mah Jongg people at the other. It should be a fun time.

After the dinner, there are so many Pubs which I would like to go to, but we will have to narrow it down to just a couple. Mentally we are planning to go to the Brew Works to listen to an Irish Band. If there was time, I would like to go to Patrick’s Pub, Matt Reilly’s, O’Laughlin’s, and the Shamrock. We might have to bypass these Pubs because we have to go to a house party which is hosted by one of our Irish Sister City friends. Linda said that she might not be able to keep up with the Curley Lad.



Yesterday went as planned for us. I did some outside work before I dined with the Mah Jongg Ladies for lunch which was at our house. After the 30 minute lunch, the ladies started playing Mah Jongg, and I took a nap.



For supper we went off to Matt Reilly’s for their Monday and Tuesday special of two fish and chip meals for $17.95. As we walked into the place, a couple said that the Corned Beef and Cabbage meal that was available was spectacular. We stuck with the fish special because we already had corned beef and cabbage on Saturday night, and we will be having it tonight and for lunch on Thursday at our home for my father, and my Aunt.



It is good to see that Tiger is going to play as soon as the Master’s Tournament which is the week after Easter. The PGA is happy because viewership has been off since Tiger has not been playing.



Pat Gormalley, President of the Pittsfield Irish Sister City Committee, and I were invited to go on a talk show radio program (WBRK 1340 AM) at 11 AM today. The talk show host wanted some guests of Irish descent to go on to discuss what is going on in the Irish Community. I am going to try and weave in some upcoming Italian Events too. Both the Gormalley Lad and I are never at a loss for words. We spend a good portion of the time trying to outtalk one another. Linda calls it “Blah, Blah, and more Blah.” Actually, the talk show host wanted Linda to be on the program too, but she declined the offer. She said that she didn’t want to compete with Pat and me.





I think that I will go from the talk show program and visit my mother in the nursing. I will then come home and take a nap so that I can last until the wee hours of the morning.





My friend said the Bob Cats were back in the neighborhood on Tuesday. Another person saw them at 8:30 AM at the place where the school bus picks up the elementary school kids. This is unusual to see Bob Cats at this time of the day, and in such a developed neighborhood. Maybe the Bobcats lost their Mom, or their Mom told them to go out and fen for themselves.





Well, I have to start a quiet activity. I am going to whip up another batch of Irish Soda Bread. The raisins have been soaking for just over 24 hours. I am going to make mini loaves. The Mah Jongg ladies each received one when they left our house yesterday.



Have a great St. Patrick’s Day!

Talk to you soon. The Curley Lad