Key West Lou / WE’RE ALL IRISH TODAY

St. Patrick’s Day. March 17th. A festive day of frolicking, drinking too much beer and enjoying corned beef and cabbage.

For whatever reason, the holiday has turned into one where everyone is Irish regardless from whence their ancestors came.

New York City has the largest and most notable parade each year. Roughly 200,000 strong.

I marched twice in my younger days. I attended college in New York City. A member of the Air Force ROTC. We were required to march.

Looked terrific in our uniforms!

The parade began at 44th Street and 5th Avenue. Straight up 5th to 79th.The parade took us past St. Patrick’s Cathedral. The Cardinal sitting regally on the steps.

As we passed, it was a sharp “eyes right!” Our heads snapped in unison.

Once the parade ended, it was party time! You have not lived till you have been a college kid in New York City on St. Patrick’s Day. I have written about the experience in the past and will leave a repetition to another year.

However, I do want to share the story of the first St. Patrick’s Day Parade in New York City. It was March 17, 1762. Thirteen years before the Revolutionary War.

I thought it strange a St. Patrick’s Day would be celebrated so early. My recollection was that the Irish famine which came more than 100 years later was what brought multitudes of Irish to American shores.

The parade I thought grew from that group. Not so.

A large number of Irish were in New York City in March 1762. Here temporarily. Homesick men. They were Irish ex-patriots and Irish military members serving with the British military stationed in the New York colonies.

The wearing of green had been banned in Ireland. Not in New York, however. To a man, they wore green. Green representing their Irish pride.

In the 1762 parade, participants reveled in the freedom to speak Irish, wear green, sing Irish songs, and play their pipes to Irish tunes.

I have done many a St. Patrick’s Day in Key West. Many with Donna and Terri.

Reservations honored no where. Contributed heavily to the drinking while waiting for a table.

I discovered the best place for corned beef is Shanna Key. Just like Mom made it! The corned beef boiled forever, the fat added to its taste, the cabbage outstanding.

I have not celebrated a St. Patrick’s Day for years. Will not be doing so this year either. I still walk with fear of COVID. However I will at some point in the next few weeks stop at Shanna Key to get my fix of corned beef and cabbage. It is always on the menu.

An updated Monroe County COVID report has been issued. By Bob Eadie, the Monroe County Administrator for the Florida Department of Health: “Monroe County is in pretty good shape…..Pandemic…..in a lull.”

As of yesterday, only 2 new cases and no hospitalizations. Eadie claims Monroe County can boast of one of the highest vaccination rates in Florida: 84 percent of the population having received at least one shot.

The barbarians will be in Key West today and tonight. They will arrive in droves to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day. No matter how good the COVID numbers may be, in 2-3 weeks Monroe County’s will rise because of the St. Patrick’s Day crowd.

My daily war observations. Can’t leave them out. Every day history in the making.

Many Russian soldiers are abandoning their tanks. Walking off into the woods.

The Ukraine Defense Ministry announced the Russian move forward has stalled.

In Chernihiv, people waiting in bread lines were shelled. At least 10 died.

In this morning’s New York Times, columnist Maureen Dowd wrote: “Zelenskyy Answers Hamlet.”

Zelenskyy in his virtual address to the British Parliament tuesday spoke Hamlet’s soliloquy with more dramatic weight than any Shakespearean actor. He said, “The question for us now is to be or not to be. This is the Shakespearean question. For 13 days, this question could have been asked. But now I can give you a definitive answer. It is definitely going to be.”

Kelenskyy in his virtual address to German lawmakers gave Germany a shot. Germany has been reluctant to jump with both feet to assist the Ukraine against Russia. Kelenskyy told the group that they were closer to the Ukraine than the nation across the water (meaning the U.S.) who are doing much more than you.

A large theater in Mariupol was being used as a civilian shelter. It was bombed. Twelve hundred inside. Many children. On both sides of the building in large letters was written “CHILDREN.”

The number of dead not yet determined. Corpses still being removed from the debris.

The Ukraine Defense Minister labeled the pilot who dropped the bomb a “monster.”

Another building sustained constant attack from bombs, shells, and missiles. Air and artillery strikes continued day and night.

Fifty three bodies have been brought to the morgue thus far. There are more bodies which for the same reason mentioned earlier with regard to another building provides the answer. The bodies are buried beneath debris.

The Russian star ballerine Olga Smirnova quit the Bolshoi Ballet over Russia’s invasion of the Ukraine. She will now dance for the Dutch National Ballet in Amsterdam.

She wrote, “I never thought I would be ashamed of Russia.”

I fear that when Putin realizes he has totally lost, he will resort to his final act of carnage: Nuclear devastation. The man is a sociopath.

Videos of the anti-war demonstrations in Moscow are all over the internet. Many signs carrying different admonitions. The message basically the same in all: No War!

Another surprise for Putin. He thought the Russians would be behind him 100 percent. As he was unaware of the condition of his military equipment, he was unaware of the feelings his people would have.

I have mentioned several times what I envision as Putin’s final end: His body hanging from a pole in Red Square.

Enjoy your day!

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