Meaty beaty big and bouncy

Did you know that Glady Knights bandmates Paul, Isaac, and Phil (the Pips..get it?) aren't the originals. The first three guys only lasted one day. Actually Isaac was an original, but he used to be flanked by Terry and Theo. Gladys Knight and the Tits didn't roll off the tongue quite as well.

I guess.

The Pips get some good play in this one, I especially like the "woo hoo" at about 1:10. There would be worse things in life than to be a Pip.

Speaking of music (and I was)...I've actually been enjoying some good old fashioned radio a bit lately. There's a local station that has been playing all the songs in their catalog from A-Z, and as gimmicky as it sounds I've found parts of it to be quite fun. This station has been around forever and has fallen in and out of favor with me over the years. Let's put it this way...if AC/DC, Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, and oh, let's say, maybe Van Halen are your favorite bands, then this is the station for you.



But I digress.

So, like I said, I've been enjoying this A-Z thing they've been doing. Seems as though they have a pretty deep "archive". Christ they've been playing songs that begin with the word I for almost 27 days now.

It's a little up and down. You might get "Blitzkreig Bop" by the Ramones (up), followed by "Blue Collar Man" by Styx (not so much)...or "Chest Fever" by the Band (up, obviously) preceeded by "Cherry Pie" by Warrant (no comment).

Some things I've enjoyed...
Being at the red light directly across from Red's....


...listening to "Give it to me" by J. Geils. Actually I had been rocking to this song for a few minutes (volume up, windows up, of course-I'm not a kid anymore). I got to the red light right when the song kicks in (about the 3:00 mark if any of you bother to listen to the clip I'm going to post)...guitar, police whistle, percussion...white guys don't get much groovier.

Anyway, there's this little girl, maybe five or six years old, waiting for her ice cream, and she is dancing. Crazy dancing. National Geographic indigenous tribe dancing. Whatever thing she had going on in that little head of hers, she was dancing in perfect rhythmn to that same song I was listening to.

Awesome.

Then there was the time "Hocus Pocus" by Focus came on. I won't post another video...but I will point you back to a prior blog that I did post the video on...follow the link if you wish

http://pompatusofpete.blogspot.com/2011/10/bite-me.html


I had been talking about this song with a coworker two days prior. Once again, I was in the car. The song came on, I turned it up (loud), called my coworkers cell phone, then held the phone up to my car speakers. For awhile. Like five minutes. Thought he'd get a kick out of it.
The next day he comes up to my desk and says, "Did you try to call me yesterday?"..."Yeah, didn't you get the call?"..."Nope. Just showed as a missed call."

All for naught.

There was the one that stumped me for the first half minute or so. (I'm usually one of those "I can name that tune in three notes" losers. Like it's a special skill or something).

Turned out to be "I Ran" by Flock of Seagulls. Since it had been so long since I had heard it, I caught myself kind of digging it. Probably like I did this first time I had heard it. By the time it was done I was tired of it, probably like I was after the next thousand times I had heard it after the first time.


Really?

One last song I thought was fun to catch was hearing "And You Bird Can Sing" by the Beatles. Made me remember why they're the best band of all time by playing a song that wasn't one of their hits that you hear time and again on the airwaves
"You say you've seen seven wonders and your bird is green"....

what?

It doesn't matter. I love it.

Time to check out.

Have to pick the winner of the Kentucky Derby and figure out how many mint juleps I can make out of the huge bag of mint I have in my fridge.

Pip.

HR Pufnstuf was naked...

..well he did wear a sash.

Must have made it easier to find his magic flute.



Tough times since my last blog.

Dick Clark passed away.



I loved American Bandstand....back in the late seventies...loved it. Most Saturdays, I'd watch it with my Mom.

Remember rate a record?

I think Barry Manilow sang the theme song.
"We're goin' hoppin' (hop)
We're goin' hopping today
Where things are poppin' (pop)
the Philadelphia way
We're gonna drop in (drop)
on all the music they play
on the Bandstand (Bandstand)"

This was before I got on the disco sucks train, as a matter of fact disco (or at least dance) music was probably predominant back when I was watching. I now know disco didn't really suck (some of it actually stuck with me...I cannot hear Rock the Boat without singing along...at least on the inside), it just wasn't my thing.
The same can be said for hair bands and 80's synth music and boy bands and rap and the Who after Keith Moon died...just not my cup of tea, so to speak. You picking up what I'm laying down?

Oh, and Levon Helm died.



Levon is the second from the left. This is the band Levon used to be in. The name of the band is The Band.
.....I hope you're following along, because I'm typing as slowly as I can....
(I have always loved this picture...a friend of mine has a picture very similar to this of a family of fisherman, all brothers, and I've always told her that picture reminds me of a famous picture of the Band. Well, Melissa, this is it.)

Levon was my second favorite drummer of all time...if there can be such a thing. If you know me you shouldn't have to ask who is my favorite. If you don't know me well, then let me hang on to that one shred of mystery.

I think I actually have a lot of second favorites...

My second favorite band ....


My second favorite color....


my second favorite movie...


my second favorite fruit....


my second favorite...well, I think you get the picture.

I always loved Levon's style...the way he hunched his shoulders when he drummed...his sideways pronunciation when he sang...he played very casual (which is, in fact, truly a style of drumming..look it up if you don't believe me). The last few years Levon held "Midnight Rambles" at his recording studio in Woodstock NY. Basically jam sessions with other musicians like Los Lobos, (the last ramble ever), and in prior years Bob Weir...John Sebastian..Maria Muldaur...Donald Fagen..Natalie Merchant...Norah Jones...etc etc etc. Would have loved going to one of those shows. Alas, another opportunity passed.

Here's an amalgamation that might have appeared at a ramble..
lots of famous folks in this lineup...see if you came name three or four or five of them...

So that's two famous people gone. They say it always comes in threes. I predicted Levon after Dick Clark passed, much to my chagrin. I was right.

Here's my prediction for number three...
and my apologies to all you Bee Gees fans out there..
..and realizing how completely morbid this is...

Robin Gibb


(Robin's the one on the left)

He was the Bee Gee that always held his hand up to his ear when he sang those melodies and had the tortured look on his face..although I don't think either of those things are ultimately what's going to do him in.

So, with that little bit of sunshine, I'm going to wrap this one up.

That's it for now.

Nice to be back on.

I'll leave you with one thing...

You should be dancing...yeah.

...and I give this blog a 91 because it has a really good beat and is easy to dance to.

42 posts...7 months...2300 hits

...that was a good run, wasn't it?

The first sentence of my first post was...
"I'm going to give this a go"

Well I have.

...and now I'm not. At least for now


We'll see maybe in a week or two or three.....or a month...

Maybe it's this new computer I have...slow connections...enter, then hit enter again...then re-enter...wrong passwords...missing links I once had... and waiting...and waaaiiiting...aanndd waaaaiiitiiiing. Writing is supposed to be easy for me...

I don't know...maybe I expected more. Not many on line comments, but I had plenty of folks come up to me and say something nice...or reference something I had written

That was cool.

..and that's all I was looking for. I guess.

There were some good moments...the top ten lists...the song interpretations...the April Fool joke....remembering my Dad.

Like my good friend, Joe Walsh, said..
"..and we don't need the ladies
cryin' 'cause the stories sad..."

So it goes.

Pop lines up his fries

First this

That's right.
Ted Nugent.
Cat Scratch Fever.

This song is not in my top 100...or even 500...as a matter of fact I've got about 5000 songs on my ipod and this isn't one of them. There's probably never been a more sexist song ever written...but...I ran across it in the car on the radio tonight...considered switching channels...didn't...then I was IN IT. I was back in 8th grade again..playing air guitar...singing along (by the way...if you want to listen, just about the 2:00 mark I've ALWAYS thought he said "bite my thing"...turns out he's says "make my bed")...I think mine suits the song better. I'm singing it that way next time too.

Oh, I do have this on vinyl though.



I'm sure it had something to do with it being about 78 degrees out when I was leaving work (and for those of you that don't know...this is being written in Maine). This is , what, April 16th or 17th....is it even officially Spring yet? I lose track. It's already friggin' Summer out. It's more likely to snow in Maine in the middle of April than it is be close to 80 degrees. Can you say global warning?




Go figure.

Speaking of music, I spent the day in New York City this past weekend and was exposed to tons of performers.

There was the guy playing guitar in Washington Square Park...or was it the guy in Columbus Park...or maybe it was across the street from the Plaza...or maybe Bryant Park...don't matter... either way he (they) were good. There's nothing like a guy playing solo outdoors with nothing but a hat for tips in front of him

...unless it's this guy



...the frying pans and skillets were a nice touch. Really rounded out his sound.

Then there were the Meetles.

Not a typo.

The Meetles.

Just like the Beatles except there were seven of them...and John was a girl...and Yoko played bass...and Ringo was bigger and balder than me...and they had four guitarists



Why the Meetles? Why not the Meatles? Probably some clever (or not so clever) take on Meet the Beatles...the Beatles second album



I see the resemblance, don't you? I only got to hear the tail end of "A Hard Day's Night" and it was pretty good...considering John was a girl and all.

Then on the subway on the way to Grand Central some girl started to announce herself as Samantha Smooth...or Wet Wilma...or Silky Drawers McGraw...or some such thing...gave her website (every Tom, Dick, and Harry has a website these days...look at me for crying out loud) and started to walk through the car "singin her tune" Might have been more well received if the car hadn't been about ninety people over full capacity. Slithering between people hanging off the handrails, packed in like sardines could not have been easy, but that didn't give her any excuse to suck. Because she did. She sucked. I know because when it comes to singing, I suck. I would have held my own against her in a sing off. At least I wasn't schilling my web site on the train with nothing to back it up..

"Hey, why don't you fire up your ipad...It's P-O-M-P-A" ...I think you get it.

Next time I want to get on these guy's train..



That's it for now...just had to get one out of my system.

I'm going for a ride...now where did I put that Deep Purple disc?

Love love me do.

...that's what it's all about

This first.
Easter is a religious Holiday.
Jesus died for your sins. Emphasis on YOUR...not mine...YOUR sins.

 



There now that I've got that out of the way, I'm going to talk about what most people think about for Easter (other than that bunny and those eggs).

Easter Candy.

Let's start with the peripheral candy and work our way up.
(and I'm not talking about comparing brands...or quality...I'm talking candy hierarchy)

Coconut Creme Eggs


I don't know.....do they even make these anymore? I remember as a kid, working on one of these for weeks...gnawing off a little bit each day (or more likely, a couple of times each day). It seemed like these things weighed about 4lbs when I was little...more likely it was about 8oz. I think this picture is exactly the same egg I would have found in my Easter basket circa 1974 or so....and if that coconut egg from 1974 was still around today, I'm sure it would still be edible. Wow, I haven't even thought of these in 20...30 years.
Blast from the Past

Jelly Beans



(If you look closely there's a hidden image of Jesus in there)
Never a huge fan of the jelly bean...but Easter has to be the prime season for them, doesn't it? They would always eventually get eaten, but not until all the other candy was gone. These were usually harvested by digging through the plastic shredded green "grass" that filled your Easter basket.

Chocolate eggs





I'm talking the foil lined chocolate eggs. Didn't you hate it when the foil wouldn't come off the egg with the first try? Success was always getting the entire foil wrap in one piece. That was always the ploy to eat "just one more". Nobody wanted to be left with a partial piece of foil on that egg. That meant having to go back in and delicately attempting to get that last piece off by surgically removing it with your finger nail. This always resulted with scraping the chocolate with said fingernail, resulting in getting said chocolate under your nail. Nobody wanted this, but that's what happened...every time. Balls.

Fruit flavored tootsie rolls




Sorry, don't know how these got on here. These sucked.

Candy eggs


I don't even know what these are properly called, but you know what I'm talking about, don't you? Candy shell...chocolate on the inside. Sure you do. Love the crunch before getting to the chocolate. If I'm not mistaken, as a kid I recall trying to just eat the hard shell off before the chocolate on the inside. Obviously not as concerned with getting chocolate all over my finger tips as I was getting it under my fingernail. Oh, and in case you were wondering, egg shaped malted milk balls DO NOT fall in this category.

Easter M & M's



C'mon. M & M's are probably the King of all candy. Plain, peanut, peanut butter, dark chocolate, it doesn't matter what type (except maybe pretzel...sort of the ugly step child in the M & M family), M & M's are the perfect candy. Who hasn't found themselves dipping into the bowl full of M & M's more times than they should have?
Remember, they melt in your mouth, not in your hand. (not that they've ever spent enough time in my hand to prove this out)

Reese's Peanut butter eggs



Sorry, these are my favorite. Notice I had to show the bag image vs. just a single image. I have to think of them in plural. These have gotten so popular that they've now branched out to peanut butter eggs shaped like Christmas trees for Christmas (obviously)...pumpkins for Halloween...groundhogs for groun...well, I think you get the picture.

Cadbury Creme Eggs


Do you remember the first time you saw one of these? FREAKY. Break it open and it looks like a raw egg. Then you eat it. This has to be the sweetest of all of the Easter candies on the list. A dozen of these would put you in the hospital.

Peeps




Have to admit, not a fan. Maybe that explains why I chose this picture, at least subliminally. I don't know, maybe it's because I don't really like marshmallow...maybe it's the coating on the outside...maybe it's just because they suck. Peeps are huge now....every color, every holiday. You've got people with websites devoted to peeps. Everyone has their opinions..."Oh, I like them when they get hard" or "I like them fresh out of the package". Let me tell you folks...I've got a package of peeps in the back of a drawer in my kitchen from about four years ago and I'll bet they taste just as "fresh" as they did when I got them ...ABOUT FOUR YEARS AGO.

Alright, let's put this post out of it's misery with the top Easter candy.

Chocolate Bunny



OK, probably not the best...but this is old school Easter candy we're talking here. I grew up with these hollow chocolate bunnies...by no stretch, not top quality chocolate. I'd always start at the ears and work my way down, how about you? If candy has a plastic equivalent, it's whatever those eyes are made out of. Over the years I've occasionally upgraded...you know...maybe Lindt...or solid chocolate...or whatever...nothing beats these cheap hollow bunnies. At least for taking up space in the Easter basket.

That's it...I'm going to dig out those four year old peeps and do microwave experiments with them.

Peace and love. Have a wonderful Easter and celebrate it however you choose

My day with Christopher Walken - part two

In case you didn't read part one...you need to ...now, or this will make no sense to you.

http://pompatusofpete.blogspot.com/2012/03/my-day-with-christopher-walken-part-one.html

...and just to help you visualize how the rest of the story goes, picture this every time Chris speaks. This is exactly how he sounded EVERY time he spoke...that off kilter delivery..the slightly odd pronunciation. All the time. All day long.

So here's the scene. Chris Walken and I sitting together in the front seat of a classic black cadillac parked at the end of Custom House Wharf. Saying nothing. Just sitting and staring out the front window. He hasn't even started the car yet. I'm starting to feel uncomfortable....

Chris' eyes are closed, but they're fluttering. He's moving his head like he's having a conversation with himself, then he starts gesticulating like he's punctuating his thoughts ...moving his shoulders...pointing his fingers. This is enough for me so I start to slide across the seat towards the door and I reach for the handle. Just then he opens his eyes and speaks.

"Donut time".

I say, "Donut time"?

He says, "Donut time. You know? Time for donuts". 

"Where do we get a good donut in this town. I'm not talking about no Dunkin Donuts...no Krispy Kreme donuts...no grocery store donuts. I'm talking honest to God donuts. You like a good donut, don't you pal?" (He would call me pal all day).

So I say, "Well there's Tony's Donuts. It's a little bit across town....."

"Stop", he says. He points at me and says, "Tony's it is. Let's roll"

Chris starts the car. He pushes in an 8 track tape. Yes, an 8 track. It's the soundtrack to "Liza with a Z". Kid you not.

"You like music, don't you pal"?, he says as we pull out on to Commercial Street.

"Sure I do", I say.

Chris then talks about Liza Minelli for the rest of the ride to Tony's Donuts. I don't say a word, other than occasionally answering with a "yes" or "no" when he sometimes ends one of his long dialogues in a question.

Something like this...(time to picture Christopher Walken in that video clip).....

"Liza Minelli, now that's some real talent. She was the total package...sing, dance, act. She was it. Cabaret is my favorite movie. You know, I was there the night they filmed this (pointing at the 8 track). May 31, 1972. Lyceum Theater on Broadway. Jesus, the costumes she wore. She was a real trooper. Best show ever. I mean EVER. You've seen this show, haven't you pal"?

"Yes"

"Sure you have pal. You know, I have a donut every morning. It's my one vice. I don't drink. I don't smoke. I don't do drugs. I don't stay up late. I allow myself one donut every morning, but it's got to be a good one. I'm partial to donuts with a little something extra. Not just your plain or your chocolate. I'm looking for something more out of a donut. Glazed...sprinkles...crunchies....filled...(he emphasizes each type of donut, slow and methodically). I don't do the powdered though. No powdered for me. Do you like powdered donuts pal"?

"No"

"Of course you don't. Too messy. Who wants to eat a messy donut".........

Get the picture?

Ten minutes later we pull into Tony's. Come to think of it, I never had to give him any directions. Somehow he just knew where to go.

"No eating in the car", Chris says. "Let's roll".

We get inside and instead of racks of dozens of different donuts the only thing we see are powdered donuts.

Chris says to me, "What is this some kind of a joke"?

I say to him "Oh geez, what's the date"?

He says, "April 1st"

APRIL FOOL'S DAY !!!

Did I get you?

Now go and get someone else.....

Peace and love.

My day with Christopher Walken - part one

Let's try this one...

My friend Christopher Walken

What you are about to read is unequivocally...indisputably..irrefutably..100% accurate or my middle name is not Francis.

FIRST - THE MEETING

I got to spend a day with Christopher Walken once. My first year out of school I was interning for Simon and Schuster. Their big name author was Steven King at the time, hence the need for a local boy on the roster. I would do things like send out photos to fans, read through his fan mail and pass on the occasional letter that I thought he would like to see (remember, this was the early 80's, people still had to write letters), but mostly I would pick people up either at Logan, Portland, or Bangor and bring them to his house...wait until their meeting was done...and bring them back to the airport. Usually I wouldn't know the person, but occasionally it would be a celebrity.

Most were decent, fairly friendly, and were cool as long as you didn't bother them and minded your own business. Chris Walken was different. Not bad, not unfriendly (actually the extreme opposite), just different.

This is how the day went.

I was told to be at the airport at 6:00AM. The odd thing was that I wasn't supposed to deliver my passenger to the King's house (which was not being reverential...just a shortened version of "the king of horror" that he was labelled with at the time) until 5:00PM. It only took two hours to get to Bangor, which is where the King lived.

When I asked what I was supposed to do with the additional nine hours I had to kill, the answer was, "Your guest has some things he'd like to see". Good enough. I was never told who I was picking up until on my way to the airport. The instructions were always the same when picking up a passenger in Portland.. Go to the Maine Aviation private terminal, park at the front door, go in to greet the guest, take their bags, and bring them to the King's house.

On my way I found out I was picking up Christopher Walken. "That's cool", I thought. He was a great actor and seemed like one strange dude. Little did I know how strange.

So, I get to the airport, and within five minutes Chris walks off the plane. He has no luggage. He comes straight to me, extends his right hand, and says, "Good morning. I'm Dr. Michael Anthony Brace"

OK......

I didn't know until later (much later) that he liked to go by the name of his last character that he played for seventeen days after filming wrapped up. That was the name of the character he played from the last movie that he was in. Why seventeen days, who knew, but that would be one of the more normal occurrences from that day.

So, we get into the car and Chris says to me, " Do you know where the Porthole is?" I say I do. "That's where we're going." Not knowing why, I drive to the Porthole. Oh, and by the way, Chris is sitting in the front seat with me. Not just with me, next to me...literally...right next to me. His left leg is touching my right...his left arm is pressed against my right. Strange. I say nothing. Neither does he. I get to the Porthole and Chris says, "Park the car right over there". He points to an open space at the end of the wharf that the Porthole sits on. I do.

"OK, this is where we get out. See that car over there?" He points to a pristine black Cadillac. Black on the outside, black on the inside. All the chrome had been taken off of it except for the bumpers. It looked like a bullet. "That's my car. That's what we're taking. I'll drive and you be my wing man. Are you ready to have some fun?". So that was that. Christopher Walken had arranged to have his car delivered to a pier on the waterfront of Portland Maine so that he could drive it up to Bangor. 

This was the beginning of a big adventure.

NEXT- THE ROAD TO NOWHERE.......

Can you write about more than two wrongs?

Let's get started...
Here are two, quite popular vices

I won't tip my hand as to which one I prefer...some things need to remain a secret.

So....vices.

I left work early today...picked up my daughter...then got an ice cream cone..BEFORE SUPPER (Gasp!)

Any vices broken then? I think not...it was 80 degrees here today...here being Maine...today being March   22....usual temperature for this day in Maine is 45 degrees. Today was HOT...or as we say here in Maine...a wicked friggin' scorchah!

Is drinking a vice? Don't know, but if it is, good for me because that's one I don't abuse. Although full disclosure here...I am writing this while enjoying a Gritty's Pub Style...and I may have another before I'm done (and if this gets tough, maybe even another). Once again, me drinking a beer or two has less to do with this being a vice of mine than it does with it BEING A WICKED FRIGGIN' SCORCHAH today.

How about swearing. OK, I'll own up to this one. I do this one. Seldom around the house...more so at work...frequently with friends. I think I prefer profanity used as an adjective rather than a noun. Swearing with verbs would be my second favorite use. Curse words that are nouns are vulgar, and I'm not a vulgar guy. Curse words used as adjectives are colorful...and surprising...and fun. Go ahead try swearing to yourself...first as nouns...then verbs....then adjectives. Which do you prefer? Thought so. Isn't the English language a fucking riot?

Then you've got wrath, vanity, and weakness. But I'm above all of those, and you can shove it where the sun don't shine...unless of course you don't agree. You're probably right and I'm wrong.....

There's jealousy, but that's not me, unless of course I see someone doing something that I wish I was doing...

Greed doesn't really apply. I'm always happy with what I have (as long as it's more than the next guy).

I never brag or am arrogant....except when I feel the need to point out my superiority to inferior people. If I even choose to speak to them.

Anger's not even in my vocabulary, well it is now obviously. Thanks for pointing that out. I never would have done that to you. EVERYTHING DOESN'T NEED TO BE PERFECT ...EXCEPT FOR YOU ...JUST DROP IT, OK? FORGET I EVEN BROUGHT IT UP,OK. JESUS, ENOUGH ALREADY. LET IT GO.

How was that? Believable? Didn't think so. This is the only mad I'm comfortable with...

Alright...two beers down, best to stop now, or I'll have to do some heavy editing tomorrow morning.

As the Doobie Brothers (the awesome version of the Doobies with Tom Johnston and not the the benign version of the Doobies with Michael McDonald...if you doubt me, do yourself a favor and do some research) album title from the mid 70's said...

Once Were Once Vices Are Now Habits

Oh, by the way, I hear it might snow on Monday.

Ain't that a kick in the fucking pants.

Peace out.

This is a bunch of blarney....

St. Patrick's Day...

That's right. Thin Lizzy. Irish band all the way. Even though this is called the cowboy song. Listen to it while drinking a shamrock shake if that makes you feel any better. I could have gone with the obvious...Van Morrison...U2...the Pogues (who I actually had the pleasure to see back up U2)..the Chieftains...the Irish Rovers, but I'm choosing Thin Lizzy.
Enough already.
Carry on.

I remember (back in the day) when Mr. Bagel would give out free green bagels on St. Patrick's Day. I'm not just talking about going into one of their shops and buying one, I mean stopping at a red light on the corner of High and Congress and having someone walk up to your car...knock on your window...and hand you a green bagel. Times were so much simpler then.

As a kid you always wanted to be Irish on St. Patrick's Day. I remember asking my Mom how much Irish we were once. How much Irish we were? What is that? That's like asking the Smith's how much human they are...or asking spaghetti how much boiled dinner it is...or coffee how much beer it is.

That doesn't even make sense.



But, I always wore green to school that day...even if it wasn't visible.



Why risk the wrath of all of those other non Irish kids pointing out that you weren't Irish because of what color you were (or weren't) wearing. God forbid you wore orange...because that meant you HATED Irish people. Actually that's a kids version of an over simplification of the green favored by Catholics and the orange favored by Protestants.

I think.

Maybe not.

Actually I don't know.

You know why I don't know?

BECAUSE I'M NOT IRISH.



Then there's that crap about St. Patrick being responsible for driving the snakes out of Ireland. While true, there are no snakes in Ireland, but that has as much to do with leprechauns or four leaf clovers as it does St. Patrick. Once again a symbolism thing...equating snakes to the pagans that were driven out of Ireland to make way for Christianity. Again, with the religion, but you know, I'm not really sure about this one either BECAUSE I'M NOT IRISH. REMEMBER?


Speaking of leprechauns. I'm a little fuzzy on the whole leprechaun thing.
Are they good?
Are the evil?
Don't they make shoes?
How do they get that pot o' gold?
Do they live at the end of a rainbow or is that just where they hang out? What's the best way to catch one?
Do they eat lucky charms?
Are they taller than a gnome? How about an elf?
Do they all wear those funny leprechaun hats?
Do they have to have red hair?
Once again, I don't know these things BECAUSE I'M NOT IRISH. REMEMBER?

Then there's the beer.

This is the hook for most people. Maybe St. Patrick and his buddies would sit around the pub at night and talk about creating this mystery holiday. There was a poll once that asked "Which holiday do you most associate with beer?" No surprise St. Patrick's Day came in first, followed by Cinco de Mayo, and then, surprisingly, Flag Day and Groundhog Day.




Why don't you join me and my friends down at the Griffin Club, say about 5:00PM or so?

Around 7:00 we plan on making the Fore river turn green. Although that plan was hatched by a Flaherty last year. Let's see how that goes.

So get out the green gear...find your shamrock decorations...root for the Celtics..have a Guinness or two...and enjoy your St. Patrick's Day...EVEN IF YOU'RE NOT IRISH!