TheBanyanTree: The Luck of the Norwegians

[Margaret R. Kramer]

St Paul, MN, believe it or not, has a strong Irish immigrant base.  Why the
Irish came here, I don’t know.  But on St Patrick’s Day, anyone who can wear
green is Irish and they’re out in droves.

St Patrick’s Day was gorgeous, highs in the 60s, so the greenies were all
over the place.  Now that I work in downtown St Paul, I can observe close
hand all the Irish festivities.  

There’s been a St Patrick’s Day parade in St Paul forever.  My high school
band used to march in it.  That was the first time I was exposed to public
drunkenness and believe me, that’s not a pretty sight.

I was able to watch this year’s edition from my office window and avoid the
drunks.

I also managed to drive home without “running” into any drunks, if you know
what I mean.

The warm weather has helped my garden burst out into early spring growth.
The rhubarb is coming up.  The daylilies are sprouting to life.  I uncovered
my roses and the stems are as green as the Emerald Isle.

We got the boys’ bikes down from the hooks on the garage ceiling.

I’ve walked the dogs several times this week.

I got a little Paul Wellstoney with one of my coworkers about health care
reform.  He, like many people, is terrified to change the status quo, which
isn’t working.  I worked for the insurance industry, and it’s as greedy as
greedy can be.

The bottom line is that no one should be denied health care access or worry
about how to pay for it.

It was a gentle debate, nothing hot headed, and we ended it amicably.  

March Madness has begun.  We dutifully filled out our NCAA brackets and now
watch as the upsets unfold before our eyes as we praise our winners and
curse our losers.  I’m winning overall – yeah, baby.  The winner gets to
pick their favorite restaurant for dinner. 

I took the VW into the shop today to get a tail light replaced, plus get new
wiper blades.  I left after paying $290.00.  My Check Engine light was on
and of course, it was due to a sensor being out, something about a coolant
sensor, I believe.  That cost $119 to diagnose and $88 to fix.  Labor is
$116 an hour.  Ouch.

It only took two hours, but they were enjoyable hours, because I brought a
book along.  I so rarely get to read for long periods at a stretch, so
waiting for my car and burying my nose into a book was just heaven for me.

St Paul is experiencing a bit of flooding.  I walked along the river
yesterday and the height of the river didn’t seem too bad to me; I’ve seen
it worse.  It didn’t look like anything was in imminent danger of being
flooded out.  But St Paul closed some roads and a couple of parks.  I think
it’s not the depth, but the swift current that can be very dangerous.

To celebrate the vernal equinox, I put out my Easter decorations, so bunnies
now adorn my living room.  Thank goodness, they’re fake bunnies, so Axel
won’t try to kill and eat them.

Our first day of spring 2010 is a bit chilly, highs didn’t even make it to
40 degrees, but the sun was out, the snow is gone, and there is a promise
that it will get warmer in the next few days as the lawns and gardens green
up just a few days after St Patrick’s Day, the “greenest” day of the year.

Margaret R. Kramer
margaretkramer at comcast.net
margaret.kramer at polarispublications.com
www.polarispublications.com
www.linkedin.com/in/margaretkramer

There are days when solitude is a heady wine that intoxicates you with
freedom, others when it is a bitter tonic, and still others when it is a
poison that makes you beat your head against the wall.  
-Colette