Paddy's First Day

14,760 Steps

Danny: Husband, Father, Bass Drummer, model citizen and proud reader of my blog.

Today I played my first two gigs with my new pipe band. Not new to them as it was founded in 1929, but new to me. Great bunch of guys (and gals). It was sort of the first opportunity for me to get to know them and them me. We had two gigs today. The first was in Stamford, Connecticut and then second in historic Peekskill, New York. The "historic" part has me wanting to Wiki the place which I will by the end of this entry.

Stamford was sort of like an East Coast version of Walnut Creek I am thinking. A clean place with no real soul. Unfair of me to say probably since I just parked in her garage and marched down a few of her streets and then left, but that is my initial assessment.

Stamford. Nice place to not really need to go to again.

Peekskill was much better. I liked the buildings, the proximity to the Hudson and the general vibe of the place. We hung out in a bar for a bit and had free peppers and sausage on rolls. Much like the early Irish settlers used to eat no doubt when the tourists weren't lookin'. This town has some character and it seemed like there were more people along the route. The local kids were also involved which I think is key to any parade having any meaning at all to me.

The local colleens of Troop 1410 kindly posed for me in front of the Paramount Theatre.

A kid dressed up as St. Patrick. That is priceless stuff.

And sometimes a rainbow is just a rainbow.

While we were waiting to go on there was this shop called "Celtic Tile." John in the band turned to me and said in one of those Irishy accents, "Ah Celtic Tile. We have three colours of tile for ye: Potato, Whiskey and Blind Rage." That was the line of the day for me right there. I am still laughing.

I wiki'd Peekskill. Here is what I have to give you on the place:

Peekskill is a city in Westchester County, New York. It is situated on a bay along the east side of the Hudson River.

The Binney and Smith Company, now makers of Crayola products, started as the Peekskill Chemical Company at Annsville in 1864.

The well-publicized Peekskill Riots, which occurred in the summer of 1949, involving controversial entertainer Paul Robeson and area World War II veterans, actually occurred in nearby Van Cortlandtville

[Ed. Imagine your riots not even happening in your town proper. That has to suck.]

Peekskill was the landing point of a fragment of the Peekskill Meteorite, just before midnight on October 9, 1992. This is only the fourth meteorite in history for which an exact orbit is known. The rock had a mass of 12.4 kg (27.3 lb) and punched through the trunk of Peekskill resident Michelle Knapp's red 1980 Chevrolet Malibu sedan as it struck.

Valentine Deli on Second Street has been cited for numerous health violations beginning in 2005.

Last January 16 year old girl La Toya Fisher stabbed her 17 year old boyfriend to death as reported in the Journal News on January 8 2008.

Actors Mel Gibson, Paul Reubens and Stanley Tucci were born in Peekskill.

Nuff said.