There was, instead, food and drink and music and...
There was, instead, food and
drink and music and dancingCatholic schools were closed, and
Catholic businesses, except for saloons, which expected and achieved
one of their biggest days of the yearThere had been Irish in
Savannah from its earliest days-the Jasper Greens first fought in the
American Revolution-and Saint Patrick's Day had always been a major
holiday for themBut during the bleak depressed decade since the
defeat of the South, the entire city had begun to join inMarch I7 was
Savannah's Spring Festival, and for one day everyone was Irish
There were gaily decorated booths in every square selling food and
lemonade, wine, coffee, and beer
Jugglers and men with trick dogs gathered crowds on street corners
Fiddlers played from the steps of City Hall and proud, peeling fendi spy zucca bag houses
throughout the cityGreen ribbons fluttered from flowering tree
branches, shamrocks made of paper or of silk were for sale from boxes
carried by enterprising men, women, and children from square to
square
Broughton Street was bedecked with green bunting in shop windows,
and
ropes of fresh green vines strung between lampposts to canopy the
parade route"Parade?!" Scarlett exclaimed when she was toldShe
touched the green silk ribbon rosettes Kathleen had pinned in her
hair
"Are we finished? Do I look all right? Is it time to go?" It was
timeFirst early Mass, and then a celebration all day and into the
night"Jamie tells me there'll be fireworks starring the sky over the
park until you're fair giddy from the splendor of it all," Kathleen
saidHer face and eyes were shining with balenciaga giant bag excitementScarlett's
green eyes were suddenly calculating"I'll bet you don't have parades
and fireworks in your village, KathleenYou'll be sorry if you don't
stay in Savannah
The girl smiled radiantly"I'll remember it forever and tell the tale
by all the hearths of all the housesOnce home, it will be a grand
thing to have seen America
There was no budging the silly girlBroughton Street was lined with
people, all of them sporting greenScarlett laughed aloud when she
saw one familyWith all those scrubbed-up children wearing green
bows
or scarves or feathers in their hats, they were just like the
O'Haras
Except that they were all black"Didn't I tell you everyone is Irish
today?" Jamie said with a grin"Even the
loo-las are wearing the green," she said, jerking her head toward a
pair nearbyScarlett craned her shop prada handbags neck to seeGood grief! It was her
grandfather's stuffy lawyer and a boy who must be his sonBoth of
them
were wearing green cravatsShe looked curiously up and down the
street at the smiling people, searching for other familiar faces
There was Mary Telfair with a group of ladies, all of them with green
ribbons on their hatsAnd Jerome! Where had he found a green coat,
for pity's sake? Surely her grandfather wasn't here; please, God,
don't let him beHe'd manage to make the sun stop shiningNo,
Jerome was with a black woman wearing a green sashFancy that,
old
prune-face Jerome with a girlfriend! At least twenty years younger,
tooA street vendor was handing out lemonade and coconut candy
cakes
to each O'Hara in turn, starting with the eager childrenWhen he got
to her, Scarlett accepted with a louis vuitton travel bags smile and bit into the candyShe was
eating on the street! No lady would do that, even if she were dying of
starvationTake that, Grandfather! she thought, delighted by her
own
wickednessThe coconut was fresh, moist, sweetScarlett enjoyed it
very much, even though it lost its thrilling defiance when she saw that
Miss Telfair was nibbling on something that she was holding between
her
kid-gloved thumb and forefinger"I still say the cowboy in the green
hat was the best," Mary Kate insisted
"He did all those fancy things with the rope, and he was so
handsome
"You just say that because he smiled at us," Helen said scornfully
Ten years old was too young to be sympathetic with the romantic
dreams
of fifteen"The best was the float with the leprechauns dancing on
it
"Those weren't leprechauns, chanel shopping bag sill