St. Patrick's Day is always a big day in SIX-BURGH!

I am back from South America. Grandson Enzo flys the Terrible Towel over Lima, Peru!

(click on images to enlarge them)

The woman had her head and eyes down sunglasses notwithstanding, as she moved along the Southside unkempt on this early morn; an obvious escapee from a night of overzealous celebration, now feeling shame and a hangover induced headache! Her theme of Irish green clothing gave her away … a St. Patrick’s Day party to forget.

Not all the celebrations yesterday were as such, as the day started out with the second largest St. Patrick’s Day parade in the country; and that was right here in your hometown, PITTSBURGH--or to Arizona fans--SIX-BURGH! Downtown is filled with various events. Market Square has the large crowds, which sometimes brings in the law for the rare rowdy celebrant who needs minor adjustments or removal for the safety of all. All in all Pittsburgh is known for friendly folks, and even on St. Patrick’s Day most adhere to some degree of decorum. This year it was reported that the police estimated the crowd to be around 150,000 Irish Green loving participants.

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Sports Update:

The big news of the weekend is Pitt, who for the first time in the team’s history was made the No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament Bracket!!! Pitt is It!

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Uniontown’s own Army Sgt. Troy Stiner is now deployed in Iraq and has a working dog Ruby, who out ranks him. The Belgian Malinois is a staff Sgt. and is one grade above Troy Stiner. They are stationed at Camp Echo, and part of the K-9 unit there. Ruby can detect explosives and weapons, and is a part of the long stored history of dogs in combat. Their sense of smell is better than anything man has invented yet, and they also are friends of their handlers, which makes it difficult for the handlers if the dog is killed in combat. Man and his best friend, like other buddies in war has a bond that is only developed in places and times like these. When one depends on the other to survive, that bond cannot be broken easily. The best to Sgt. Troy Stiner and Sgt. Ruby … keep your head down.

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Tuesday is St. Patrick’s Day, but the parade and celebrations took place on Saturday in Pittsburgh. I am sure that Tuesday will still find the serious Irish party folks busy again, and again the next morning will find lost, suffering souls wandering the streets looking for home…

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Keep your head down,

Henry Hill, Plum Pennsylvania