I always loved the day of the St. Patrick’s Day Parade in Seaside Heights which traditionally is held the Saturday before the holiday itself. I fondly recall days spent inside and outside Klee’s Bar & Grill, simply one my favorite places from the time I could have my first legal adult beverage. There were years when our crew would arrive early enough at Klee’s to get a seat and leave well after morning had become afternoon and afternoon had become evening. The mood was always fun and upbeat and next to Christmas it might have been my favorite day of the year.
For several years I participated in the parade with others from the radio station.
I remember one year when several of the guys, along with some friends I recruited
wore kilts and other Irish grab and walked the parade route handing out tickets for a contest we were running. The funniest part was that women, especially older ones, kept lifting our kilts and were disappointed to find we had shorts on underneath. They would laugh and say “real Irishmen don’t wear shorts” to which I replied, “real Irishmen aren’t walking in a parade with dirty old ladies like you.”
Tomorrow the 27th Annual Ocean County St. Patrick’s Day Parade will take place, starting at noon. It lines up in Seaside Park and the route takes the marchers, floats, bands and vehicles all along the boulevard in Seaside Heights. The weather forecast is just about perfect and officials expect to surpass the record crowd of 75,000 who witnesses last year’s parade. In the words of Chairman John Sweeney, “on this glorious day we honor St. Patrick and celebrate the heritage of the Irish and Irish-Americans.”
On a totally unrelated note, the Point Boro Girl’s basketball team put forth a tremendous effort last night before losing to the state’s top-ranked team in the Group 2 state semifinals. Malcolm X Shabazz of Newark won the game 65-58 but Coach Dave Drew’s Panthers never quit. Senior Kelsey Haycook finished an outstanding career with 22 points and with most of their players back next season the Boro should be a force to be reckoned with again.
Steven Sally scored 18 points and hit the game-winning basket in the final minute to lift Ocean County College past Mass Bay Community College 61-59 in the opening game of the National Junior College Division III Tournament. The win by the surprising Vikings sends them into tonight’s semifinals against Mountain View College of Texas.
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