st. patrick’s day
i am not irish, nor will i ever be and and i don’t even drink beer (gasp!) but for some odd reason or another, st. patrick’s day is one of my favorite holidays. it all started 2 years ago when i just happened to be going out to the city (SF) on a typical friday night that also just happened to be st. patrick’s day. of course, i had to comply and not be the ultimate party pooper and went and got a green shirt from the candy-like dispensing store of cheap, poor quality, but fashionable for now clothing, forever 21. with green shirt on and st. patrick’s day fever on board, i found myself in the city bar hopping and getting smashed along the way. my fellow non-irish-st. paddy’s day-celebrating entourage and i eventually found ourself at this pub (kate o’brien’s)
surrounded by a sea of green wearing, inebriated individuals who probably weren’t irish either but were drinking their green beer and celebrating as if they themselves and/or their ancestors had survived the potato famine and the turmoils of the IRA. everyone was jolly and more than a little drunk and for a brief moment in time all had a unified agenda–to drink green beer, get free kisses because you were “irish” and to celebrate for the sake of celebrating.
i’m sure though that any true irish man would be offended by the absolute absurdity of it all. bud light in a green bottle does not an irish beer make…nor does drinking a pint or 4 of guiness once a year. and neither does sporting unsightly amounts of ridiculously bright green clothing. but who cares? it’s all in the name of fun and you don’t have to only be irish to have fun. and so this year i find myself utterly disappointed because st. patrick’s day is on a monday and i have to be up before the crack of dawn tuesday morning and will not be able to partake in any festivities this time around. so to all you non-irish st. patrick’s day celebrators out there i say, have a pint of green beer for me and wear your green loud and proud because all of us have a little irish in us.