My Wife Kissed A Leprechaun!

Well, yesterday we celebrated St. Patrick Day by going to Ireland, WV, and experiencing the Irish Spring Festival. We arrived during late morning. I was just a little sad because we just missed the performance of Bum the Wonder Horse! Bum the Wonder Horse, who has traveled more than 40,000 miles and performs 150 tricks, is always a hit at nursing homes and fairs.

After parking in front of a long white building located up from the community center, we gathered our winter coats, camera, and headed down the road. (Note: The long building where we parked was, according to a local fellow, the funeral home. We thought it was interesting that there were no signs on the structure indicating this was a funeral business. Guess in Ireland, they want to keep their dead a private affair!) It was 29 degrees and snowing. Yes, I felt another one of life’s adventures was near at hand.

As we walked to the festival center, a leprechaun came walking toward us. What a great outfit! This man was dressed in green with all the trappings of a leprechaun including a hat, real beard, and realistic pointed ears. Here was a photo opportunity in the making! I asked the leprechaun if I may take a photo of him and my wife. He was kind and said “Most certainly!” Then tragedy struck!

As I started snapping the picture, a message appeared on my digital camera’s screen. “Memory Card Not Installed” – I had taken out the card to download photos onto my computer and had not returned the memory card to the camera. So I am sorry, my blog friends, I have no photos of the leprechaun nor the festivities. After a kiss on his cheek by the good wife, the leprechaun quickly disappeared.


We entered the small community center and talked with some friends. Then an announcement was made that everyone had to evacuate the building! I wondered why everyone had to go out in the cold. I doubt there were terrorists near, nor impending attacks from deadly Irish vultures. The reason- all had to go to the road to watch the parade! The parade (actually billed as The Greenery Stroll) consisted of decorated four wheelers, wagons with kids dressed in Irish costumes, and even a few guys in improvised kilts. (Well, they were plaid skirts- close enough in Ireland, WV)

After the parade we headed back to the community center and feasted on hot dogs, a cinnamon roll, and coffee. We took some time to view the crafts. Here was our friend Julia Bragg, who is a retired Lewis County high school biology teacher, at her spinning wheel. She is a lovely person.


As we walked back to the car, we noticed a crowd in front of the post office. They were registering for the road bowling tournament! For you who know nothing of the fine sport of road bowling, let me quote from the Irish festival website.

The basic premise is the same as golf's. Get the 28oz cannonball from point A to point B in the fewest number of attempts. Our course is 2 miles from Ireland to Duffy and the Snake Chase map would include this course. It is not as easy as it sounds however. When the ball chooses to take a bad bounce and go off the road, it still must be retrieved. Retrieval is hazardous since there is a cold flowing stream adjacent to a portion of the course, soft ditches where one can easily sink to the knees are all along the route. But the most dreaded difficulty along the course is a very soft and juicy barn lot whose mud contains a toxic percentage level of bovine excrement while guarded by a 1500 pound black angus bull. You don't have to be a he-man to be good either One of our best bowlers was a 90 pound-soaking-wet sophomore, Becky Posey. Our Road Bowling was probably the first in the U.S. and was aired on The Outdoor Life Cable Channel in 1996. This program is often replayed in the spring as a novel broadcast.

We missed the Harp concert, snake chase, and other exciting events. Did I mention that we missed Bum the Wonder Horse?