My Postings Are Not Quotidian!
Quotidian: as an adjective means daily, ordinary, everyday or recurring daily. I just can't get my thoughts together everyday but I hope when I do, that my postings are not too ordinary!
St. Patrick's Day has come and gone but I still have a few things to write about that famous day. When we lived in New Jersey the daffodils and crocuses were blooming when I celebrated my birthday. We frequently had rain --not the snow that might occur in Wisconsin and Minnesota. Spring was breaking forth!
I remember going to the St. Patrick's Day parade in Newark, NJ -- I must have been 4 or 5, since Daddy held me on his shoulders so I could see the bag-pipers, bands and all the sons of Eire. For some reason we never went to New York City to see the BIG parade. I think it might be that my folks didn't want to stand on a street corner and fight the mobs of people. When I was 35 my friend Judy and I started talking about going to NYC to see the BIG parade the year we turned 40. When the time came to make our reservations, etc. her husband, Roger, was surprised since he thought we had been joking. NOT! Jeff had heard me talking about the trip for 5 years and just figured when Judy and I talked about doing something we would be doing it.
St. Patrick's day was on a Saturday in 1979 and we left Minnesota on March 15. We got settled in our hotel after arriving at LaGuardia. We had said we wanted to go see Annie so off we went to the theatre which was not far from our hotel. Talk about positive thinking! We walked up to the box office to see there were any tickets available for that evening. Yes, there were two 10th row Orchestra seats that had been returned! At that time I think the tickets were $36 each. The seats were grand and we enjoyed Annie so much that evening.
On Friday, we took the DeCamp bus over to Montclair. We went to the police station to visit my dad's former partner in the Identification Bureau. We then went to check out the house where we lived on Chestnut Street. Then we walked around so I could show Judy the schools I had gone to and the other houses we had lived in. My grade K-4 school, Edgemont, was fun to see again. Funny how things seem smaller when you are a grown-up.
Saturday morning we got up bright and early and headed over to St. Patrick's Cathedral for the special mass that is held on St. Patrick's Day. The large church was filled with Irish dignitaries, flight attendants from Aer Lingus (the Irish airline)and church dignitaries. The cathedral is a magnificent edifice and we enjoyed the service...the Lutheran and the Methodist.
Following the Mass we went down Fifth Avenue to get a spot to watch the parade. Fifth Avenue has a green stripe painted down the middle. The parade lasted for 6 hours. Couldn't believe that there are that many Irishmen and women. We joked that they probably had buses shuttling folks back to the starting point once they got to the end of the parade. There were groups marching representing all the counties in
Ireland, the Sons of Sligo, the Sons of Cork, The Sons of Tipperary,etc. There were NYC police, NYC firemen. You name it, they were there! Some of the folks watching the parade were as entertaining as the parade. There was a teenage boy in back of us with his face painted green. Nowadays that is not unusual but in 1979 it was!
On Sunday, we visited my second cousins. On Monday, we went to Washington, D.C. on Amtrack. There we saw my cousin Joe Laughlin and his family and my Aunt Hannah. We also did the touristy things. At that time the Air and Space Museum had what was probably one of the first IMAX theaters showing "To Fly". We stayed at the Mayflower Hotel and enjoyed that experience. A cousin of Roger's lent us her little Volkswagen and that helped us get around. A fun time!
When we returned home it was still looking like Winter! We had had a good respite from Winter and still have lots of fun memories of turning 40!
When we turned 45 we went to St. Paul and celebrated by watching their parade. That evening we went to see "Prairie Home Companion". Not as elaborate but again, it was a Great Day for the Irish! And those of us who were not!
St. Patrick's Day has come and gone but I still have a few things to write about that famous day. When we lived in New Jersey the daffodils and crocuses were blooming when I celebrated my birthday. We frequently had rain --not the snow that might occur in Wisconsin and Minnesota. Spring was breaking forth!
I remember going to the St. Patrick's Day parade in Newark, NJ -- I must have been 4 or 5, since Daddy held me on his shoulders so I could see the bag-pipers, bands and all the sons of Eire. For some reason we never went to New York City to see the BIG parade. I think it might be that my folks didn't want to stand on a street corner and fight the mobs of people. When I was 35 my friend Judy and I started talking about going to NYC to see the BIG parade the year we turned 40. When the time came to make our reservations, etc. her husband, Roger, was surprised since he thought we had been joking. NOT! Jeff had heard me talking about the trip for 5 years and just figured when Judy and I talked about doing something we would be doing it.
St. Patrick's day was on a Saturday in 1979 and we left Minnesota on March 15. We got settled in our hotel after arriving at LaGuardia. We had said we wanted to go see Annie so off we went to the theatre which was not far from our hotel. Talk about positive thinking! We walked up to the box office to see there were any tickets available for that evening. Yes, there were two 10th row Orchestra seats that had been returned! At that time I think the tickets were $36 each. The seats were grand and we enjoyed Annie so much that evening.
On Friday, we took the DeCamp bus over to Montclair. We went to the police station to visit my dad's former partner in the Identification Bureau. We then went to check out the house where we lived on Chestnut Street. Then we walked around so I could show Judy the schools I had gone to and the other houses we had lived in. My grade K-4 school, Edgemont, was fun to see again. Funny how things seem smaller when you are a grown-up.
Saturday morning we got up bright and early and headed over to St. Patrick's Cathedral for the special mass that is held on St. Patrick's Day. The large church was filled with Irish dignitaries, flight attendants from Aer Lingus (the Irish airline)and church dignitaries. The cathedral is a magnificent edifice and we enjoyed the service...the Lutheran and the Methodist.
Following the Mass we went down Fifth Avenue to get a spot to watch the parade. Fifth Avenue has a green stripe painted down the middle. The parade lasted for 6 hours. Couldn't believe that there are that many Irishmen and women. We joked that they probably had buses shuttling folks back to the starting point once they got to the end of the parade. There were groups marching representing all the counties in
Ireland, the Sons of Sligo, the Sons of Cork, The Sons of Tipperary,etc. There were NYC police, NYC firemen. You name it, they were there! Some of the folks watching the parade were as entertaining as the parade. There was a teenage boy in back of us with his face painted green. Nowadays that is not unusual but in 1979 it was!
On Sunday, we visited my second cousins. On Monday, we went to Washington, D.C. on Amtrack. There we saw my cousin Joe Laughlin and his family and my Aunt Hannah. We also did the touristy things. At that time the Air and Space Museum had what was probably one of the first IMAX theaters showing "To Fly". We stayed at the Mayflower Hotel and enjoyed that experience. A cousin of Roger's lent us her little Volkswagen and that helped us get around. A fun time!
When we returned home it was still looking like Winter! We had had a good respite from Winter and still have lots of fun memories of turning 40!
When we turned 45 we went to St. Paul and celebrated by watching their parade. That evening we went to see "Prairie Home Companion". Not as elaborate but again, it was a Great Day for the Irish! And those of us who were not!
posted by Lois at 9:15 AM
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