Tomorrow is March 17, St. Patrick’s Day, and in Savannah, the place I used to be born and raised, they’ve a extremely huge parade to have fun.
I am going. I am prepared. My hat is adorned with shiny inexperienced stuff, and I’ve dragged my fanny pack out of the closet. That is positively a hands-free event.
COVID canceled the parade for the previous two years and it is nonetheless a bit iffy about whether or not or not we should always put on masks.
It’s crowded. Bay Road? River Road? Metropolis Market? Elbow-poking crowded. But when the alcohol in beer might be thought-about sanitizing, we needs to be high-quality.
There’s a variety of “Erin Go Bragh, Y’all.”
Typically, if I mosey round Congress Road, the place the music is loud and the folks louder, I’m reminded of the time I used to be the one sober particular person at UGA Regulation Faculty’s Barristers’ Ball.
Daughter Tamela goes with me, and thank goodness; we can’t have to observe the parade squeezed in the midst of slap-happy guests from The place Ever. Now we have reserved seats within the bleachers reverse Cathedral of St John the Baptist and all we’ve to do is get there.
We’ll park on the west facet of city, close to sufficient to the Talmadge Bridge to overlook a variety of the visitors once we’re able to go residence to Bluffton.
To discover a good parking area, one the place your automotive will not be towed to the outer areas of Poolagolia, it is advisable to get to city early, breakfast early.
For years we might go to Trinity Methodist Church for pancakes, bacon, and caffeine-sustaining espresso. They do not try this anymore, so now we’ll most likely wander over to McDonald’s on Broughton Road. Fingers crossed they’re open.
From there it is a stroll up Barnard Road via Telfair Sq. and Orleans Sq., admiring the flowers, all of the spectacular costumes, the inexperienced face inexperienced hair folks, no hurry, no worries, our seats are ready for us.
Normally, it is a three-hour or longer parade.
The principle staging space is at Forsyth Park and from there the parade will come down Abercorn Road and most instances cease in entrance of the Cathedral and St Vincent’s Academy.
That is the place the bands will cease and play and ladies in sequins and tiny shorts and mismatched pantyhose wave these big flags up and down and throughout and majorettes twirl their batons and Shriners do wheelies with their loopy bikes and TV reporters maintain interviews with dignitaries in smooth convertibles and anyone else that takes their fancy.
I will be actually stunned if there aren’t tons and plenty of kilt-wearing bagpipers.
This isn’t a severe “cross in evaluation” sort of parade. Oh, most navy models do their factor going one-two, one-two, shoulders again, eyes entrance.
There are some exceptions.
Take the Benedictine Navy Faculty cadets, for instance. They struggle. They actually do. They’re all spiffed up of their uniforms, sneakers shined, brass polished, eyes straight forward. However then, schoolgirls sporting plenty of pink pink lipstick run out and provides them kisses as they march previous. Ah, youth. Brings a smile to the sourest puss.
The parade started as a household affair for Irish Savannahians, and at coronary heart, it nonetheless is.
In any case, St. Patrick is the patron saint of Eire, credited with bringing Christianity to the Emerald Isle. Yearly, the Irish households line up, Catholic and Protestant, one group after the opposite, your entire household from the youngest to the oldest. If they cannot stroll, they trip, indicators in entrance of every group make up a thesaurus of Irish names.
Everyone seems to be wearing some shade of inexperienced, even the animals get a dye job, so you might be invisible to the leprechauns. If they’ll see you, these fairy creatures will enjoyment of providing you with a pinch.
Households will parade by with goat carts, child buggies, scooters, some whizzing previous on skateboards. One 12 months I noticed a curler derby gal skating frontwards and backward. She was one thing else.
Our seats within the bleachers are on the entrance row, so it will likely be straightforward to face when our flag goes previous and we rise up, hand on coronary heart. We’ll try this rather a lot.
I do not know who else will probably be within the parade. Would not matter. Monsignor will bless us all as a result of on St. Patrick’s Day, we’re each one God’s kids and most positively Irish.
See you there?
Annelore Harrell lives in Bluffton and might be reached at anneloreh@aol.com.
