Welcome to Take One of March’s Secret Subject Swaps. This week, 15 brave bloggers picked a secret subject for someone else and were assigned a secret subject to interpret in their own style. Today we are all simultaneously divulging our topics and submitting our posts.
Here are links to all the sites now featuring Secret Subject Swap posts. Sit back, grab a cup, and check them all out. See you there:
Life on the SONny Side
My subject is: Tell us about a St. Patricks Day you (sort of) remember. It was submitted by: The Momisodes. Here goes:
There are quite a few St. Patrick’s Days I could tell you about, or partially tell you about. Especially those that took place during my college years. But the one I’m going to tell you about is from a few years after I had graduated from college. I was living in an apartment, had worked as a Social Worker for a few years and at this point was the Director of Social Services in a private Long Term Care facility. My best friend was working a few evenings Cocktail Waitressing at a Pub in my home town and I decided to work an evening or two a week also.
Liam’s Irish Tavern was generally fairly quiet on the nights I worked and I enjoyed it. I served a few beers, learned some very . . . ahem . . .interesting songs from some really fun Irish bands, visited with friends who’d occasionally stop by, have a drink at the end of the evening and go home.
And then March came around. We’d been told that whether or not it was our night to work, St. Patrick’s Day was all-hands-on-deck. That was fine with me, my favorite Irish band would be playing, green beer would be flowing, everyone I know in town would be in. This was going to be fun.
So maybe fun isn’t exactly how I’d describe it. Torture would be a good word. It was PACKED, like unable-to-take-a-single-step-without-getting-to-know-someone-intimately packed. They were drinking, dancing and drinking, singing and drinking, walking around to see who was there and drinking, spilling and drinking, yelling to be heard and drinking, standing wall-to-wall and drinking . . .
At first I tried to do my job; take orders, fill the orders, pay the bartender for the drinks and head out to the table. Nope, not gonna happen. I’d hold my tray up in the air, but at five feet tall, I couldn’t get through the crowds to the tables. People would just grab drinks off my tray and throw money onto the tray. What wasn’t taken was spilled into my hair and down my neck. When I’d finally make it to a table and lower my tray I’d find an empty pitcher or two, a few beer glasses that were one third full at best and NO shot glasses.
OK, Plan B. Skip taking orders, go straight to the bar, get a bunch of beers, pitchers and shots and just turn around. Drinks were taken, money was left, if I didn’t try to get to the tables I could even avoid more beer down my shirt. Once the bouncers saw that I couldn’t move, they’d come and surround me to get me through the crowd. I knew they just wanted to see the one woman wet t-shirt contest that resulted from my trying to walk, but I preferred my Plan B to a green beer soaking, so I sent them on their way.
A few times through the night the band would grab me or a crowd I knew from High School would grab me and I’d find myself taking a break from (not) serving drinks (anyway) to dance or sing along:
Oh, dear, what can the matter be
Seven old ladies stuck in the lava-tree
They were there from Sunday till Satur-dee
Nobody knew they were there.
Can’t remember my kids names or what I had for dinner last night, but I STILL remember the words to that song!
The night went by in a huge wet green blurr. My feet were sore, I was exhausted, bumped and bruised. I was soaked and my shoes stuck to the floor. I’d NEVER wear those clothes again, but I was grinning from ear to ear. And in the early hours of the morning when I sat down at the bar, had a drink and finally started to pull my tips out of my apron, hair, ears, shirt, and pockets, I realized this: That pot full of gold at the end of the rainbow . . . I had found it.
Rosemary Beef Stew
Rosemary Beef Stew
©www.BakingInATornado.com
Ingredients:
2 lbs. Stew Beef
3 Tbsp oil
1 onion, chopped
1 cloves minced garlic
1 (28 oz) can diced Italian Tomatoes
1 cup water
3/4 cup white wine
1/4 cup dried parsley
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp dried rosemary
1/2 tsp pepper
4 new potatoes, cut into bite-sized pieces
1/2 lb mushrooms, quartered
1 zucchini, cut lengthwise, then sliced
1 small bag frozen peas
fresh or frozen pearl onions
Directions:
*Heat the oil in a large pot and brown the beef. Remove the beef and saute the onion and garlic in the same pan until the onions are soft. Add the beef back into the pot.
*Add in the tomatoes, water, wine, parsley, salt, rosemary and pepper.
*Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer for 2 hours.
*Add the potatoes, cover and simmer for another half hour.
*Add the mushrooms, zucchini, peas and pearl onions. Cover and simmer another half hour.
NOTE: I will often brown the beef, saute the onion and garlic, then finish making it in the crockpot.
Working in a bar on St. Patty's Day would officially be my worst nightmare. I love that I'm old enough to have an excuse to not have to drink green beer before my 8am class now! Wild days...but lots of great blurry memories too :) Fun post! Hooray for your pot of gold! Hope you bought yourself some new shoes and socks with all those tips!
ReplyDeleteI can tell you one thing, I've never worked in a bar on St. Patty's Day since!
DeleteIt sounds like an AWESOME St. Patty's Day. I've been in those too cramped bars on the holiday. I believe it was about 100 years ago. Love your story and so glad there are others in the world with wonderfully selective memories :) Cheers to you, my friend!
ReplyDeleteIt was awesome and awful all at once. Had a blast but would never do it again!
DeleteROFL!! You are a brave, brave woman!!! I am Irish and I stay FAR away from bars on St Patrick's Day!!! LOL
ReplyDeleteI think naive is a better word. I had no idea what I was getting into. But I lived through it and it's now just a fun memory.
DeleteSounds like one of those "better to look back on and laugh" kind of moments. At least you have stories to tell. The recipe sounds yummy, I may have to try it this weekend.
ReplyDeleteIt is without a doubt one of those experiences that I look back on and laugh. It was hard work at the time, but worth having done. . . once.
DeletePure awesomeness, my friend. Got chill bumps when I read the last line. Thanks for taking me down memory lane!
ReplyDeleteThanks. It was, without a doubt, quite an experience.
DeleteSounds like a nightmare to me. Maybe I'm just old. Funny how we remember songs.
ReplyDeleteIt would be a nightmare now, but back then it was actually a fun (once-in-a-lifetime) experience. It was a big party and I was in the middle of it, singing Irish songs and wearing beer.
DeleteI LOVE St. Patrick's Day...and Irish bands. That would have been a dream come true.
ReplyDeleteIs it bad that I TOTALLY pictured you with big 80's hair and an off the shoulder shirt? lol
LOL, you're not far off. I have very curly hair so I meticulously straightened it every day, but yes on the shirt!
Deletewow. you are brave babe, I could never do that. I usually just celebrate by buying a green bagel from the deli, LOL
ReplyDeleteThat green bagel thing is right up my alley these days too. That and the Corned Beef dinner and Soda bread I make for the family will do it. If the kids are lucky I may make a Shamrock shake after school for them, but no crazier than that these days!
DeleteIm glad you didnt get ripped off but bet you wouldnt do it again for any amount of money! You gave me flashbacks to my cocktail waitressing days...glad theyre over!
ReplyDeleteNo, I'm with you, wouldn't do it again for any amount of money.
DeleteOh yeah, I know first hand how the Irish like to have a good song and dance, so I can just imagine the scene you spoke of in your post. Glad you made it out alive, ha ha ha ha. Maybe one day soon I'm gonna catch a plane and do the Irish thing on paddy's day. You sure did bring it home girl, thanks.
ReplyDeleteAlthough I wouldn't do it that way again, I have to admit that the St. Paddy's day thing is a lot of fun, no matter what level you choose to celebrate.
DeleteLOL so true but at least you lived to tell the tale that's what awesome experiences are all about! I would've loved to be there! The song sounds great! lololol and the recipe looks awesome! I'm going to have to plan a whole menu with all your recipes! I know all about being small....it's aggravating! =)
ReplyDeleteI have to admit, it was one tough night, but I really did make a fortune in tips!
Deletewow!That sounds like such an awesome experience, even though it must have been exhausting!! I love the words for that song!! Great post for the prompt, Karen!
ReplyDeleteThanks Roshni, it was actually a fun stroll down Memory Lane.
DeleteOh My that brings back so many memories. I love nights like that and Irish bars are the most fun always.
ReplyDeleteWell done!
Thank you, I love being able to look back at some of the fun things I did when I was younger, and although I wouldn't do them again, remember how much fun it was.
DeleteSounds like one of those nights... A lot of fun, a lot of Grrrrrrrrrr, and a nice reward at the end. Ahhhhh, to be young again, or not. Ha!!!
ReplyDeleteTake care, Slu
That's exactly what it was, a lot of fun, a lot of Grrrr, and a pot of gold at the end of the (predominantly green) rainbow!
DeleteHaving never gone out to celebrate St Patrick's Day, nor having ever worked in a bar, I think I'm glad I got a different prompt. I think you did a great job with it!
ReplyDeleteGirl, you really gotta get out of the house more!
DeleteAs a former bartender who has worked St Pattys I have had my share of crazy times. I know just what you are saying. It's a rough day to work buy the tips are terrific! Now living in NYC along 2nd Ave frat bar row I have been a part of that drunken, dancing, singing crowd on the other side of the bar.
ReplyDeleteI have also seen my share of green beer wet t-shirt contests!
Phil
www.blog.theregularguynyc.com
If that was a St. Patrick's day in a small town, I can't imagine it in NYC. Now THAT takes some bravery!
DeleteOh Karen-what a St. Paddy's day for you. I could not even imagine trying to work a crowd like that but I can imagine those snagging your drinks off the tray. CRAZY! LOL
ReplyDeleteIrish
Crazy is a good word for it, a night I'm never going to forget.
DeleteI will definitely be putting this recipe to good use tomorrow. Thank you!
ReplyDeleteHope you love it!
Delete