By Heidi Hess
Well, March marched in much like my daughter does when she wants something or has some burning question that needs an answer. I was sitting at the dining room table racking my brain, trying to figure out what I was going to write about for my monthly column for the good people at AroundWellington (It’s all for you…really) when Savannah marched in asking about our ancestry. How is it that she doesn’t know? Haven’t we talked about it? Humm…we are German/Irish.
It was interesting timing because St. Patrick’s Day is coming up and I was thinking about writing about the festive events surrounding a holiday that celebrates our ancestors, but aren’t we all Irish on St Patty’s Day? The Delray Beach St. Patrick’s Day Parade is on Saturday, March 16, 2024, from 12:00 pm to 2:00 pm and is not to be missed. The West Palm Beach Shamrock Stroll on March 16, 2024, is from 1:00 pm to 8:00 pm and sounds like it could be a lot of fun. And then I saw this… the St. Patrick’s Day Alien Green Out. What the..? Unlike the other events, this happens on March 17, 2024, from 1:00 pm to 5:00 pm at Astro Skate of Palm Beach County. If you wear a green T-shirt you get a free slice of green pizza (I hope it’s green from dye…) and the best part is that it’s family-friendly. Everyone can have good old-fashioned St. Patty’s Day. I mean what celebrates our Irish heritage better than dressing as an alien? Stay with me. This is a stretch.
If you think about it, we are all aliens, unless we are Native American. One or two of our distant relatives got on a boat and braved the Atlantic to make a better life for future generations. They risked everything for us. And now, here we are living the American dream, dressing up as an alien, roller skating with our family, and eating green pizza. Perhaps St. Patty’s Day is less about being Irish and more of a celebration of the ones who came before. So, Happy St. Patrick’s Day, to you and everyone. Now go put on your green T-shirt. I want to make sure you get a slice of that green pizza. Your great, great, great grandma would want it that way.