“The crocuses are grooming
Beneath the sequined snow
To make a dazzling debut
At spring’s first garden show.”
– Author Unknown
Hubby took his camera outside on Sunday to take photos of at least 15 crocuses. They are all purple, although I know there are yellow ones hidden in the ground. The upright euws have been badly damaged by the snow. I think we’ll have to do a lot of pruning when the snow finally melts. After he had taken photos of the flowers and the quickly shrinking snowpiles, he came back in the house. He had found a sign that we had put up at the bottom of the porch steps after the Christmas decorations came down. It showed a white mother bear holding a small baby bear with the words: “Let It Snow.” It was buried for two months in the snow and we had forgotten about it. Now we must put up our Easter sign.
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I must return to the St. Patrick’s Day dinner at the Leahy/Holloran Community Center on March 11. I have already mentioned that the corned beef and cabbage dinner, catered by Gerard, was terrific. Throughout the evening, BPD Officer Tommy Leahy entertained us on his bagpipes. He is so good! My one-eighth Scottish heritage just loves bagpipes! There were some wonderful kids volunteering to serve us seniors. Cora McAllister was a sweet little girl who helped at our table. John Quinn was the young man who read the raffle–prize tickets so well at the last dinner.
This evening, Tommy Leahy, with his strong voice, offered to read the raffle numbers because our area of Neponset had a short power failure and the school’s microphone was not working. (Our own home is just up the street from the center/Murphy School. We had our electric radios and clocks blinking at us, waiting to be reset when we got home.)
There were quite a few prizes at the dinner. Even I, who seldom wins anything, won a make-up bag. We were so happy that pal Loretta won the gorgeous spring wreath, which had been donated by City Councillor Frank Baker. Frank had made his way around the room greeting many of his constituents. Hubby asked him to get in a photo with Loretta holding the wreath. Frank obliged and Hubby has several great photos of the two of them with the wreath.
Here are some more names of the young people who helped with the dinner: Ava Daly, Abby Quinn, Mia McCarthy, Sydney Denver, George Kalil, Aja Credle, Teresa Nguyen, Savannah Bell, Alizey Marshal, Alexis Gomes, Brendan Manning, Jordan Russell, John Quinn, Andrew Hoang, Robert Butts, Erin Leahy, Lily Galvin, Annie Jackson, Caroline McCarthy, Liley Damatin, Sophia Lally, Cecilia Jackson, and Owen Cunningham. (I hope I have written all of the kids’ names correctly.) I also have the names of some of the seniors at the dinner: Eileen Collins, Marie Schallmo, Gerry Cardinal, Mary Sullivan, Evie Leahy. Jeanette Nephew, and Mary Shea. Marilyn Ferrara and Judy and Jim Farrell also won prizes. I was delighted to see Jim Barry. Eileen Collins and her good friend Dot Burneika had a great time chatting at the dinner. I think I saw Irene Duff at a distance. The staff of the center saved a wonderful thing to do at the end. Pat Moran had made all the centerpieces for the tables: green hats with the orange, green, and white balloons attached through the top of the hat. The center’s staff heard that March 11 was Pat’s special birthday. (I think it was her 75th.) They presented her with a birthday cake, decorated with green, white, and orange frosting. She certainly deserved it for making all the centerpieces.
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I must thank my longtime friend Maureen Senuta for giving us a long sign with the name DORCHESTER written on the “crackled” paint surface. I had never seen anything like that and I thanked her profusely. She said she saw it on the Internet. The sign will go in a place of honor in our home.
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On Sunday, March 15, Hubby, daughter Sue, and pal Eileen Burke drove to St. Gregory’s for the parish’s annual St. Patrick’s Day breakfast. It is always such a nice time. When we came in, the parish secretary, Julie Hayes, greeted us. We were early so we had our choice of tables. Mary Keeley and Pat Devilly sat at the next table with their pals.
A little after 11 a.m., people from the 10:30 a.m. Mass came rushing into the hall. Gerard was already setting up his trays of food. Hubby went over to get some coffee, which was already available for us. Sue brought back orange juice. Fr. Vincent Daily went to the microphone to welcome the big crowd to the celebration. He thanked his assistant Julie for putting together the event.
People then hopped into the food line. What an assortment of food Gerard had made for the occasion: scrambled eggs, bacon, sausages, Irish bacon, blood pudding, fried potatoes, and baked beans, along with Irish bread and several types of danish! Everything was very tasty. There were several empty seats at our table, so Fr. Daily sat and ate his breakfast with us. We found we had lots in common with him and we enjoyed chatting with him. He told us that Jim Dwyer, who was in attendance that morning, plays for New England Hockey and is positively the best goalie in the world.
As soon as most people had eaten, Fr. Daily returned to the microphone and announced that the Forbes School of Irish Step Dancing would perform. Out came probably 15 or 16 dancers, who were wonderful. There were four-hand sets of dancing. The teacher then announced that two older dancers would be performing their routine for “I’m Shipping Up to Boston,” the Dropkick Murphys’ best–known song. The rest of the older students were off performing with the Dropkick Murphys. Their tap routine was exceptional. I am sure that the other girls must have stunned the Dropkick Murphys and their audience with their excellent footwork.
Then it was time for Fr. Vincent to come back to the microphone with his banjo. He apologized for not having had time to practice Irish songs. He played with (Cantor) Sean Roper and Barbara Doherty singing along. He played “The Wild Rover,” “500 Miles,” and “The Black Velvet Band.” We then started to laugh because he played “The Monkees” theme song. His final song, fittingly, was “Danny Boy.”
Also in the crowd were Eileen Burke, Mike Skillin, Rita Gillespie, Jane Cavaleri, Mary Keeley, Pat Revilly, Peter Woloschuk, and even Fr. Daily’s sister Connie. Elaine Doherty was there with her two granddaughters.
I must mention the centerpieces. They were arranged by Linda from Braintree Flowers. They were small jars, lined on the inside with shades of green paper and inside that, the flowers. I was fortunate that no one at my table was able to carry the centerpiece so I won it by default. It still looks beautiful after a week on my little marble table in the front hall.
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I learned some facts about Ireland from Ch. 541 on Comcast Cable. “Erin Go Bragh” means “Ireland Forever.” Ireland is about the size of Arkansas. Kate Smith began her radio show on St. Patrick’s Day in 1931. At the age of 16, St. Patrick was sold into slavery and, after six years, was returned to Ireland. He then converted the country to Catholicism. He introduced the Roman alphabet to Ireland. He used a three-leaf clover to explain the Holy Trinity to the peasants. Leprechauns were cranky souls, responsible for mending shoes. More than 100 US cities hold St. Patrick’s Day parades. The first one in the states was held in New York City in 1762.
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What a great thought, attributed to Thomas Alva Edison: “Everything comes to him who hustles while he waits.”
