March to your own bag-piper

It’s a very special time of year for Irish-Americans. We have an excuse to do Irish Car Bombs, sway and sing Pogues songs off-key , and eat a shit-ton of Corned beef and Cabbage. But since 2010, the celebration has felt a little emptier.



 

YELLING



Two years ago, I lost something important to me, a very special day, the South Side Irish Parade.  Sure the parade overall was pretty crappy, and it seemed like most anyone could be in it.  But that’s not the point, It combined two of my favorite things, public drunkenness and yelling. So much yelling.  And I guess I could get those things at say, a professional sporting event or perhaps the Bud Billiken parade…but would they have the charm and warmth of the South Side?

 Over the years, I continued to celebrate parade day. When we got a little bigger we thought it was funny to mess with the drunk people, and probably it was.  But it wasn’t until my teen years that I could appreciate what I had always referred to as ‘the best day of the year’.  When I think about a 19-year-old me engaging in tug of war over a bucket of beer with a cop, I have to wonder, will I ever do that again? 

IRISH RILEY!



It was after the parade of March 2009 that the committee announced they weren’t planning on holding a 2010 edition. Saying “the event had become too large for the community to accommodate and the difficulty in policing such a large crowd while maintaining the dignity of the event.” And maybe that was true. Sure there was public urination, and vomiting, and fighting. And Ok, maybe I was even guilty of a couple of those things. And I guess I can’t fault them when I think of how out of hand it had become.



Night before Parade 2009



But who among us is above a holiday that celebrates drinking early in the morning? By the way, if that doesn’t sound great to you, try walking to a parade in the cold with a hangover.  I can’t believe I can never do that again on a Sunday morning without being accused of being an alcoholic.

Anyway, I hope this teaches us all to cherish whatever traditions we have, and to celebrate hard. Because you never know when a bunch of stupid north-siders will show up on a bus and act like retards and ruin everything.



Cherish these moments



RIP Parade Day