It's snowing...again

It's March and it's still snowing...I realize that this is all possible in the month of March here in New England. But, I'm starting to wonder if the sun does come out in Spring time....I'm hopeful. Here's a poem my friend Nate wrote that I enjoyed reading as a counter to all this snow!

what if the earth began to halt
its inertia collided at faults
and the globe cracked cleanly in two
like a breakfast egg to match morning brew
the insides traveled out to the sun
as the two halves combine into one
then i could quickly dig through the ground
and descend tunnels until i have found
that my home is but a short climb above
my jerusalem, the city i love

St. Patrick's Day in Boston!

South Boston goes crazy for St. Patrick's day! We have a very high population of Irish-Americans around her and people line the streets to get into South Boston for the festivities. Every year on the Sunday closest to St. Patty's day there is a big parade about 3 blocks from my house. So, this year we stopped by after church! Here are some of the highlights:

Angie (my roommate), her brother Lee, and our friend Michelle

Folks lined up along the road dressed in lots of green

Boston police showed up in great number! (I'm not sure if anyone was actually working that day...let's hope there wasn't too much crime and under-aged drinking!)

One of the many groups of bagpiper and drum groups!

The Celtics Cheerleaders on the Boston Duck tour boat

St. Patrick himself...the letters underneath said, "Saint Patrick Blesses Us"...we'll see how that turns out

Following St. Patty was the Budweiser cart with the beautiful horses (go figure)

Sam Adams Brewery Trolley...and Sam

There was quite a Star Wars crew...Darth Vader even showed up...I have no idea what the connection is but apparently since the Red Sox won two world series in recent years we are now known as the "Evil Empire"...yep, I'm serious

The consequences of all the drinking.....20 cops on motorcycles showed up at the neighbors...who were sporting a flag of Ireland and who were sitting on the porch at 10am this morning having some Bud light as I walked to my car....oh, what a holiday...I'm sure St. Patrick is proud....or scratching his head in disbelief

Begging

As I was driving to class tonight (in which I am writing this...don't tell) I was caught at a traffic light that lasted most of the day, when I noticed something very common in major city. A man was walking up and down the rows of cars, holding a sign, and asking for money. The reason he made such an impact on me was the sense of humor in which he had, particularly given his circumstance. His sign read:

"I'm broke and homeless, and need a billion dollars...visa, mastercard, check"

Awesome. If he hadn't have run across the street to catch the next line of cars on an off ramp, I would have reached out and added to his cause with the $5 bill in my pocket. I can appreciate when we can laugh about our lives even when they seem difficult. That's a great reminder for since the weather dudes said it was going to rain and snow this weekend....oh great!

P.S. I'm not trying to make light of this particular person's circumstance....but all of us can appreciate the humor in the midst of it! This is a little more like my circumstance...may not be a bad idea to pay for school!

Up in Flames

Today I read an article on the CNN website about a town very closely situated next to mine in Washington. Apparently it is being speculated that a group from an Eco-friendly activist group set fire to $2 million dollar homes in Woodinville. All I have to say is, leave it to people in Seattle to set fire to people's homes and lives for the sake of the earth. I almost think they may have done more damage to the ozone layer with all those chemicals and particles of house floating up into the atmosphere as the house went up in flames. I don't know....I could be very, very wrong. Maybe if they burned up the houses for the sake of bringing attention to our habit of consuming in excess as Americans while neglecting the poor, instead of for the sake of the environment, I might be able to get on board. Except, I've never heard of burning people's houses as a good way to make them aware of their need to give back to the earth and the world around them. Ridiculous....Here's the article for those of you not watching this unfold on local tv:

http://www.cnn.com/2008/CRIME/03/03/seattle.fire/index.html?eref=rss_latest

I think I spoke too soon...

when I said spring was in the air....I was just lying or having a lapse of judgment. Because, although it is now March I was greeted with snow and rain pouring from the skies last night and upon going downtown this morning. Therefore, I am not thrilled. There is still hope...but I'm not crossing my fingers that it will not snow in May.

P.S. I promise my next blog will be more exciting than a discussion or rant about the weather. I promise...