This St. Patrick’s Day, I will attend a meeting of SOLA, or the Southern Louisiana Chapter of RWA. We have Julie Smith speaking. I’m always amazed at what each speaker brings to our collective knowledge. Even if you think you’ll learn nothing, you always come away with something. However, if you aren’t a writer or a wanna-be writer, you’re thinking–Dude, I don’t care. (Except you probably don’t speak that way. It’s a thing my sister, Bianca, and I end up doing when we’re together. It’s Dude this or Dude that. Dude. It’s annoying.)

Then, y’all….Mmm, parade time at the Whistler house. The annual Irish Channel St. Patrick’s Day parade. If you want a flower, you have to kiss one of the men walking in green suit coats and kilts. Some of them dwell in that easy on the eyes category. There also exists the men who’ve walked many more miles than me. However, for the luck of the Irish…

After the walking members come the floats. From those, the riders toss beads, shamrock themed items, and cabbages. Keep your eyes open! Be ready to catch your supper. It’s common for carrots, onions, potatoes, and other such food stuffs to be tossed from

Mr. Lovely Chest

 the floats. If I get a chance, I’ll snap a photo of one man who has a delicious, lick-worthy ch

est. He had his shirt off one year, and it’s been in the 80s lately. Y’all, if I do get a photo, I’ll post it. Oh, yum. I should also say that I have not a lick of Irish in me. It’s all to support the history of New Orleans, in which the Irish helped construct a channel and a city. This place, this Crescent City, is rich with history and cultures. All you have to do is delve into it. Happy St. Patrick’s Day!