Green Week

 St. Patrick’s Day always turns my thoughts to green, just in time for the eruption of little leafy buds on the trees and shrubs.  To me the color green represents the newness of life and gift of future possibilities.  I seemed to be seeing green everywhere I went this past week, from Florida to Cali. 



My week began in the company of two Leprechaun grandkids while eating a St. Patty Melt at McGuire’s Irish Pub in Pensacola, Florida.  We’re talking a wee bit of great company and a lot of good grub across the board.  Nothing quite compares to sitting in a dimmed booth with a million and a half greenbacks dangling above your head.  Shrill whines penetrated the evening’s festivities as a green-kilted piper paraded up and down the tiny corridor playing Irish tunes.  On the way out the door, lots of Kelly green memorabilia tempted exiting customers, and of course, I gave in.

Ceiling at McGuire's Irish Pub, Pensacola

Although I never made it to the Emerald Coast, I got my fill of white sand wherever we went.  Sand was present on the play ground, along the roads, and at various places throughout the Gulf Breeze Zoo.  Although Gulf Breeze is only a small petting zoo, it is one of the finest zoos I have seen in my past half century.  Animals are close enough to feed from your hand or from a plastic cup that, incidentally, can be placed in a recycle crate for future users.  Some of the animals got right up next to us and actually posed for the camera!  In case you have intentions of visiting the zoo, watch out for spitting llamas and camels that use their teeth to snatch the food cup out of your hand!  Last of all, beware of birds with parrot green feathers that land on your hat and start pecking on your head!

Gulf Breeze Zoo, near Pensacola

Gulf Breeze Zoo, near Pensacola



I left the two-legged flying creatures to catch my two-legged flight from Florida to San Diego, and I found myself in conversation with a very green gentleman who sold wind-generated electricity for a living.  I haven’t engaged in this conversation since the last election year four years ago when alternative energy was a hot political topic.  Both of us reminisced about breathing particulates from ominously lurking pollution clouds in the cities where we grew up.  I was reminded that fresh air is something we cannot live without, and once again, I resolved to make this world a cleaner place for my posterity.    

The next day Shamu also admonished me to save the ocean, so I scampered around Sea World behind a group of seven grandchildren and their parents hoping to instill a sense of awareness in their young minds.  Playing upon their sense of curiosity, I made sure they saw the sea turtles which are my favorite.  The turtles munched on pastel green lettuce leaves against a mossy green backdrop.  I was mesmerized by their grace and beauty; my grandkids didn’t watch for long.  Instead they opted to navigate through an ocean of obstacles using fake turtle-shaped game controllers in the next room.   

Sea Turtles dining at Sea World San Diego, California

The next morning we similarly navigated our way through Mission Bay Park to find our dripping daughters at the finish line of their rainy day 10K.  Of course, these young mothers were clad in goofy green garb along with the other runners, but it was their green fingernails that caught my attention.  They reminded me of the time we spent together on a rainy coast in California.  Long after the sparkles wear off, these spring green memories will remain with us. I now dream of future family occasions as I catch a glimpse of the newly forming foliage on the fruit tree in my own backyard.

Wearin' of the Green for St. Patty's Day 2012