The month of March is always busy with all of the events covering St. Patrick’s Day. Actually, a lot of those events start at the end of February.
I was busy covering the pub-crawl, Leprechaun contests, 5K race, two parades, a distinguished Irish woman event, an Irish Woman of the Year, and two Friendly Sons of St. Patrick dinners.
I exhausted all of my green clothing in my closet and I’m all “Irished” out. With that said, the Irish really know how to party and have fun.
Pub-crawls are fun, and everyone participating has a ball. The Wyoming Valley Pipe & Drum Corps really gets into the spirit of St. Patrick and played their hearts out.
The Little Miss and Mr. Leprechaun contest is always a joy to see the little ones all dressed in green to answer questions from M.C. Sarah Donahue.
I have to admit, I always feel badly for the children who don’t win, and I hope they are able to take the disappointment in stride. I’m sure the judges wish all the kids could win, and I’m sure all the parents believe their child should win. Only two contestants can take home the title, and the judges are really fair in picking the winners.
We had two fine women being honored this year: Lois McHugh as the Women’s Network’s Distinguished Woman of the Year recipient at Fox Hill County Club and Mary Clare Leonard as the Greater Pittston Friendly Sons of St. Patrick’s Irish Woman of the Year at the The Woodlands Inn and Resort.
Lois has been volunteering most of her life, mostly known for her work at Pittston Meals on Wheels. She was a great choice for this year, and I’ve gotten to know her a little bit. I can tell you she was very humbled by the award and probably didn’t want people to make a big fuss over her.
Mary Clare is someone I never met before, but I’m sure glad I had the chance to cover her award.
She is the mother of eight children, and for me I’m only familiar with son Paul mostly from his running races over the last two decades that I’ve been covering 5Ks.
Mary Clare, who was a nurse by trade and the wife of a funeral director, is also one of those modest people who never looked for awards or accolades. She just did what she needed to do.
I was asked to shoot the Wilkes-Barre Friendly Sons of St. Patrick dinner at the Mohegan Pennsylvania Casino because guest speaker was Ken Griffey Sr., who played baseball for 19 years in the major leagues and is the father of Ken Jr., one of the greatest major league baseball players of all time.
I had the chance to speak to him for a little but, but I spent about 20 minutes with his better half, Valarie. She and Sr. had six children, two deceased, and the other four living in all parts of the country.
The Griffey’s live in Langehorne, just about two hours from Wilkes-Barre, so it wasn’t too bad of a drive for them.
For having one famous child, she was very proud to tell what her other three children were doing in their lives. She did mention Ken Jr. is very big into photography these days living in Florida.
Before my time concluded with Valarie, she asked me where the nearest Starbucks would be.
She said, “We are not coffee lovers, but we do love their lemon cake.”
Honestly, they were so down to earth and I was glad I met them. Valarie asked me if would kindly send her a few photos from the evening, which I did.
The Scranton Friendly Sons of St. Patrick may have had President Clinton as their keynote speaker, but the Pittston Friendly Sons also had a president as a keynote speaker — the president of Little League International baseball, that is.
I did not have the chance to speak to Stephen D. Keener, Little League International’s skipper, but he looked like he was having a great time at the Woodlands Resort.
Just as the Wilkes-Barre Friendly Sons dinner had pipe and drums, so did the Pittston Friendly Sons dinner. The Black Diamonds Pipe Band from Scranton was dressed in brand-new full regalia and performed a few Irish tunes to everyone’s delight, including the Fighting Irish Notre Dame’s theme song. I even saw Fr. Paul McDonnell tapping the table along to the music.
It was fun running into the same people at just about all of the events I mentioned. As a matter of fact, I even told one gentleman that I see him for one month out of the year until the following year.
Next we move our attention to the holy season of Easter with today being Palm Sunday.
I covered the Feast of St. Joseph at the Oblates of St. Joseph Seminary, Laflin, led by the aforementioned Fr. McDonnell this past Tuesday. Bishop Joseph Bambera served as celebrant, once again, and impresses me each and every year.
Quote of the Week
“Teach self-denial and make its practice pleasure, and you can create for the world a destiny more sublime that ever issued from the brain of the wildest dreamer.” – Sir Walter Scott
Thought of the Week
“Whatever task you undertake, do it with all your heart and soul. Always be courteous, never be discouraged. Beware of him who promises something for nothing. Do not blame anybody for your mistakes and failures. Do not look for approval except the consciousness of doing your best.” – Bernard M. Baruch
Bumper Sticker
“You will have to believe in yourself when no one else does.” – Serena Williams.