Walkin’ the Walk on St. Paddy’s Day

St. Patrick’s Day was a nonevent for me and my family today.  My daughter had to work all day, and just left the house to join a couple of friends at a nearby pub where there will be bagpipers.  For my husband and I it was an afternoon of community activism.  We spent the afternoon driving around nearby neighborhoods, talking to people who’ve been identified as sympathetic to our cause which is trying to stop the rampant over-development of our town, Huntington, LI.

At least 3 of the twelve homes we visited smelled like corned beef and cabbage.  Not only did the smell make me hungry, it reminded me of how religiously I used to cook up corn beef and cabbage for my family on St. Pat’s Day.  Not because we’re terribly Irish (if at all), but because there was always a parade in our town, and years ago my brother, a highway patrol officer, played the bagpipes in that parade as a member of Suffolk County’s Emerald Society band.  It was always a thrill for us to see him come down the street in his gorgeous kilt and tall hat, blowing on his bagpipe and nodding to us as he marched by. I’d always have a steaming plate of corned beef, potatoes and cabbage ready for him when he stopped by, before he headed back to his own home, an hour away.

He’s now retired and so are we. Sadly, many of these traditions have slowly come to an end for our family.  This is what small-town suburban life was like ten, twenty years ago.  Now we are entering a new era which seems to be less about traditions and families and more about individuals trying to make as much money as they can, while they can, even if it means exploiting local communities and upsetting family traditions.

I know the only constant in life is “change;” but does it always have to be so painful? Many of the traditions we grew up with are disappearing.  Where are we going? What will become of us? These are the questions I ponder in my daily life.  And that is why I spent the day walking the streets of my town, trying to preserve some of what I have grown to love and pass it on to the next generation. Do I sound like an old person?