Sunday, March 16, 2008

The Saint Patrick's Day Parade



Like many other Californians, I am a racial and ethnic mutt...



...which may be part of the reason I am fascinated by mono-cultures...



...and how they fare in the American, multi-cultural diaspora.



On Saturday, the annual Saint Patrick's Day Parade for Irish-Americans made its way up Market Street to the Civic Center.



It's always a jolly affair, with lots of children and families involved, often playing instruments or dancing up the street.



I played golf at Lincoln Park with an Irish construction worker the other day, and his tales of going back to the mother country 15 years after he arrived in California for economic opportunities were fascinating, especially since Ireland has changed so dramatically over the last decade since its joining the European Union.



"With the dollar being worthless right now, I can hardly afford the place anymore," he told me. "And where there used to be mass unemployment, there are jobs all over the place. It's strange."



One of my favorite groups in the parade was the "Los Trancos Community Band," which was an ecccentric looking collection of what looked like old hippies.



I wonder if they play "Danny Boy."

4 comments:

Greg said...

we got there towards the end of the parade, it was fun. did you see the "brides of march" later on downtown? hilarious.

Matthew Hubbard said...

Love the dogs. And the young girls on the cell phones. In a decade from now, there will be synchronized cell phone drill brigades in every parade for every occasion!

Remember, you heard it here first!

sfwillie said...

What a hideous shade of green. Is that Kelly? What a fucked up color to organize a culture around.

Henry Holland said...

The man in the second picture with his arms crossed is way hot. Mmmmm....pale skin......mmmmmmm.....chest hair peeking out his shirt.....mmmmm.