What were they thinking: Leprechauns building a park

Ah, St. Patrick’s Day is next week (March 17th) and everyone will be donning their green clothing, and being that it also coincides with the end of lent, is often associated with a lot of drinking and eating. It is also the most celebrated saint’s day by far. But, we may ask – why green. The original color associated with St Patrick was blue and it morphed over time, possibly because Ireland is a very green country and the shamrock is their symbol.

Irish culture has spread to a lot of places. For example in Portland where I live, we have the world’s smallest park Mill Ends Park. The site of the park was originally intended for a lamppost, but it failed to appear. Weeds sprouted. Dick Fagan, a columnist for the Oregon Journal (not to be confused with the Oregonian), said that he saw a leprechaun – Patrick O’Toole – digging a hole in the park. He captured the Leprechaun, which entitled him to a wish. He said that he wanted a park of his own – and the Patrick O’Toole gave him the hole. For the next two decades Fagan tended the park and often wrote about O’Toole in his column Mill Ends. You can read more about this in my personal blog here.


So, to celebrate, I bring you an Irish joke about drinking.

An Irishman had been drinking at a pub all night.  The bartender finally said that the bar is closing. So the Irishman stood up to leave and fell flat on his face. He tried to stand one more time; same result. He figured he'll crawl outside and get some fresh air and maybe that will sober him up.
Once outside he stood up and fell flat on his face. So he decided to crawl the 4 blocks to his home. When he arrived at the door he stood up and again fell flat on his face.  He crawled through the door and into his bedroom. When he reached his bed he tried one more time to stand up. This time he managed to pull himself upright, but he quickly fell right into bed and is sound asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow.   He was awakened the next morning to his wife standing over him, shouting, "So, you've been out drinking again!!"
     "What makes you say that?" he asked, putting on an innocent look.
     "The pub called. You left your wheelchair there again."

Know any other Irish jokes? Please post them.

Brian Bailey – keeping you covered

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