Everyone is Irish for one day

So it took me a while to finally finish this and post it, but alas, it is here. Not like it's going to win anything, but here is my interpretation of Springfield, Illinois during the 2010 St. Patrick's Day weekend.





Thousands of wild drunks ascend the streets of Springfield clamoring, hammering and stammering toward troughs like pigs for the feed. Each soul is dressed from head to toe in green garb, saluting the patron Saint Patrick, though I fear and doubt most couldn't tell what he did. The behavior can range from fun and wild to downright boorish. Some lost their corn beef and cabbage through emesis, while other wolf down potatoes and green beer as it was their last Irish day on earth.

That green mass swells the sidewalks of downtown and walking through the crows is like trudging through quicksand. Hello's, good byes and Irish car bombs turn the air into a salty mix of upheaval. There is nowhere to run, nowhere to hide. You are cocoon-wrapped in the annual St. Patrick's parade.

Parking is a nightmare and most have to park tens of blocks away, walk through the minefield of babies to make their way to the designated party zone. 5 th St. between Washington and Capitol is where the drunkards swill and spent most of their time. Outside of those parameters, families take their children to witness the parade, away from the people with loose morals and hot tongues. The one time a year where drinking the streets is condoned and full advantage is taken in this situation. While some sneak in cheap beverages, most will stick to the troughs of chilled Budweiser and Bud Light in green bottles.

And all of this happens before the parade starts at noon. Once the procession establishes itself, all eyes are fixated on the street. Floats, cars, motorcycles fill the pavement with excitement, cheer and jubilation. For children, it's the abundance of candy most only know inside of Halloween, making this day especially enjoyable. For the "adults", beads take top billing. Green shiny necklaces with emblems of shamrocks and other beverages sponsors assault the air by the thousands. While the girls don't flash the cleavage for those beads like Mardi Gras, some nipples will be seen today.

Once the parade is over, the overage abundance of people hit the local pubs and bars for watered down meisterchow, corned beef and anything alcoholic.

By 4 pm, the downtown scene turns into a delightful cold and green spring break. enemies become the best of friends, old flames may reunited and good friends coagulate together for one extra special day of debauchery. Everything swells with the immense amount of people clogging every pour of sidewalk, crevasse and bathroom in a four square block radius.

Mouths squawk, but nothing makes sense. Words fall from tongues upon imbibed ears, yet those precious moments will rarely be remembered. What will stay intact will be the piece together photos taken from this glorious day. Starting from the happy and holy sober pictures from the beginning to the tattered and messes portraits of the end of the day, everyone will wish the had ended on a stronger note.

Stronger as in that most will need to be carried from their drinks, thrown into cabs or friends cars and shuttled off to a sober living facility.

It sure is amazing how complicated friends can make your whole life. Yes, they Can be a great part of your menial existence here on this planet, but sometimes they can sure seem to throw some rather large monkeywrenches in the while situation.

Just wanted to see how the blogging would work from my iPhone. They say l I have to do is text it and it will work.

Why I Landed Here.

I was never into blogging, bloggers and this whole, "hey, look at me, I have access to the Internet, so I think I can be a journalist." In fact, I wrote a 10 page paper on bloggers and their role in society and media nowadays. Don't get me wrong, I am definitely impressed with the amount they have leaked into society. Now, bloggers are mainstream. They get passes to the RNC, along with the men and women who work for newspapers, radio, tcv etc.

It always seemed like the bloggers were moving in on my territory. I earned that journalism degree, I was the one who spent $65,000 on my education, I took the classes, what gives you the right?

Well, when you lose your right, like I did in January 2009 and get laid off from my radio gig, I figured journalism dead for me. I couldn't beg, borrow or steal my way into a new job. Talk about depressing. This pent up writer can't just sit back and dabble on Microsoft Word when the alcohol runs through his veins anymore. So I am taking to the only outlet currently offered to me, blogging.

After a discussion with my wife, dad and sister, I am going to use this blog for my advantage. No, I won't always be spewing about life and how I hate living in central Illinois (but that will def. be a topic of conversation) but I will be using this to write reviews for shows, games, books and other trials and tribulations I may come along. I'll let everyone out there in Internet land about my vacations, job (which can come with frustrations) and everything inbetween.

I open my blog for anyone who ever feels frustrated and content at the same time. Anyone who wants to cast away from their birthplace, but can't seem to muster up the strength. Anyone who yearns to slide away from the normal everyday mundane and get out and get it done.

Write me and tell me your story.