146.6 Where's Your Green?

When I was a kid in the 1960s we lived in fear of being pinched on St Patrick's Day. Everyone was in on it: from our parents to our classmates to the workers at our day care. We wore green or we got pinched. That was just how it was!

A trick of the game was if you pinched someone who was wearing green then they could pinch you back harder. My dad would always pretend he had forgotten to wear green, but secretly he would always wear green socks. We would pinch him and yell out, "St Patrick's Day!" Then he would get this delighted leprechaun's look on his face, slowly show us his green socks, and chase us around the room to pinch us back.

We kids got more cautious as we got older. We learned to ask, "Where's your green?" before we pinched. The game changed at that point. It became less about chasing each other for a pinch and more about creative ways to wear green. My eyes are hazel, so if I really did forget to wear green I would say, "My green is in my eyes!" The person would look closely at my eyes and say, "Well I'll be! I thought your eyes were brown!"

(Picture and Story about My Rainbow Eyes)

I substituted yesterday. I walked round the halls for the half hour I have to stay after school before I am allowed to leave. I had rehearsal later at Lincoln Heights Community Church for the worship music for tomorrow. We have gotten a little band together with a cool box drum, a harmonica player, a pianist and Pastor David Hammond on cello or guitar.

My target weight is 145. Here is what I ate yesterday and lost 1.6 pounds (mostly water weight from eating too much salt):

Small bowl of Special K and vanilla soy milk
Raw carrot sticks and 2 tablespoons Parmesan spinach dip
Small hamburger patty, 1 tablespoon BBQ sauce, steamed broccoli