I started my green celebrations long ago during my undergraduate years at the Missouri University of Science & Technology, an engineering college. Since Saint Patrick is the patron saint of engineers, the school and town celebrate for 10 days ending with a downtown parade.
But the most fun place to celebrate Saint Patrick's Day is on the MV Explorer. The faculty, staff, and lifelong learners (aka Sea Salts) packed the faculty/staff lounge for a night of Irish singing and dancing. At our Irish ceilidh, Mike Connolly and Becky Hitchcock led us in the singing of some Irish favorites (Molly Malone, Danny Boy, Drunken Sailor, Boys of County Armagh) and taught us how to dance the Bridge of Athlone.
My favorite part was the group singing of the cleverly written Mary Jo Johnston's Ball, adapted from Mick McGilligan's Ball. What a lovely surprise to be honored with my very own song! The chorus goes like this "So they all went down to Mary Jo Johnston's Ball, where they had to tear the paper off the wall, to make room for all the people in the hall. Well, the girls and the boys made a divil of a noise at Mary Jo Johnston's Ball." And the verses were even more fun.
Yours in enjoying Saint Patrick through the years,
Mary
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