By myopic, I mean my recap will not extend much beyond the patio at the Barley House (well, except we’re going to talk about a transportation snafu involving DART). Anyway, Eric asked me yesterday to answer five questions about the Greenville Avenue St. Patrick’s Day Parade. After the jump, I’ll do my best.
1. Q: After 18 years of trial and error, have we found the perfect parade-watching spot? A: I think so. I’ve ridden on a float in the parade. I’ve judged the parade. I’ve jockeyed for a perch along the street from which to the view the parade. But not until this year did it occur to us simply to plop down on the patio at the Barley House, on Yale, and wait for the parade to come to us. First, the Barley House sells beer. Second, the Barley House has bathrooms. At around 10 a.m., before the parade begins, you can sit and watch all the green freaks wandering north toward the headwaters of the parade. Then, later, as the parade runs down the street and empties out onto Yale, forming a delta of drunks and green detritus, you’ve got the perfect spot from which take it all in. And still have access to a bathroom.
2. Q: How long does it take to finish a breakfast bottle of champagne? A: In my experience, three adult men can polish off a bottle of champagne in the time it takes to ride the DART train from the White Rock Station to the Mockingbird Station, with maybe just a few swallows remaining for the walk up to the Barley House. Though I’m sure with some effort it could be done more quickly.
3. Q: If a Blue Line train and a Red Line train are traveling in separate directions, and an editor with a creepy ’stache and a sombrero exits the Red Line train and tries to hitch a ride on Northwest Highway because he’s an idiot and can’t read maps designed to be understood by homeless people (instead of just taking the train back to Mockingbird Station and then getting on the Blue Line train, like someone who is not an idiot would do), at what point do his friends just leave him behind? A: Listen, here’s the thing about all that: as you can clearly see from the group photo above, I wasn’t wearing a sombrero (clockwise from shadowy figure of yrs trly: Eric Celeste, dermatologist to the stars Joe Capasso, Laura Kostelny, Rhonda Reinhart). It was a very large cowboy hat. Now, the other thing about that: if you’re headed back to your car, Eric, don’t separate yourself from your wheel man. At the Mockingbird station, I got distracted by the fellow you see here in the platform shoes. He and I struck up a conversation about the film adaptation of Where the Wild Things Are. These things happens. Meanwhile, though, Eric went ahead and boarded a train, leaving me behind. And when the next train arrived, I was distracted (I think because I was making a good point about how the movie is actually too much like the book, which is why I didn’t like it). I panicked. I hopped on the train — which turned out to be the Red Line, instead of the Blue Line. Anyway, long story short, thank you to truck-driving Tim, who picked me up on Northwest Highway. And in answer to your question, Eric, the friends leave him behind after about 30 minutes.
4. Q: Have the editors of D Home included that Jell-O shot recipe in a feature on entertaining at home? A: This is a good question. Laura and Rhonda will have to answer it.
5. Q: Has all photographic evidence been destroyed? A: I’ve got a funny picture of Rhonda with a guy in a chicken suit. If you haven’t seen it yet, stop by my desk.
Thanks to the 80,000 people or so who turned out Saturday to remind me why this is my favorite day in Dallas every year. By all accounts, everyone behaved (mostly). A good time was had by all. I’m sure St. Patrick is proud of Dallas.
If you’ve got a story from Saturday, feel free to share it in the comments.
