By Dennis Minich
Here we are in what I hope is the great reset of 2022. It was 24 months ago our front page featured a story about Pat Flan-ner of Harrisonville who just might be one of the most Irish people you could ever meet. He flies an Irish flag, he has a genuine Irish walking stick and most important-ly, he knows the importance of a good St. Patrick’s Day celebration. After talking to him I was fired up and ready to go see the big parade in Kansas City on Tuesday.
But somewhere between our Thursday paper and the Tuesday parade, we suddenly became aware of this whole COVID thing. Sure, we had heard about it, but it really hadn’t crept into our lives. As late as Sunday night, the celebration was on. But Monday the walls came crashing down, the party was canceled and we all know the rest. But I checked it out and sure enough the parade is back on this year. I have not contacted Pat, but I am sure if he can, he will be there.
I remember when the whole thing start-ed, (I am old enough to remember 50 years ago) when radio personality Mike Murphy, along with a few others got this whole thing going, actually as a kind of joke. Now it’s grown and reportedly is one of the biggest St. Patrick’s Day celebrations in the country, however this could be a fact composed by the same people who gave us more fountains than Rome and more boulevard miles than anywhere but Paris. Anyway, if you are interested the parade begins at 11 a.m. on March 17 at 33rd and Broadway in Kansas City.
I wish the news was as good for the first event I was planning on that got canceled. We had tickets to attend a concert by for-mer Styx front-man, Dennis DeYoung, which actually was the first weekend in March 2020, before we had really heard much about COVID. It was rescheduled for May, but that likewise got delayed. We still had our tickets for the resched-uled date in May 2021, but again crowd limits forced yet another postponement. Finally, we had a date, last Saturday night. But four days before the show, we were informed it was finally canceled. It was supposed to be a special night for me and my then-new girlfriend. Fortunately, she liked me enough that I didn’t have to count on the show to win her heart.
There is another thought though. There were about 2,000 tickets sold at $100 a pop, meaning someone got to keep a lot of money in their bank account and that doesn’t even include the non-refundable ticket fee. While it didn’t likely make anyone rich, it does seem like the promoters came out well ahead of the disappointed fans.
And on the subject of disappointment, yes, it is that time. Daylight Saving Time begins early Sunday morning. I know our local state representative, Chris Sander, has repeatedly presented a bill to make the Daylight-Saving Time permanent and stop the back and forth. I for one am on board. I am not sure how the whole concept ever really made a lot of sense. I guess there is some logic to it, but for whatever good it does is lost in the hassle that comes twice a year. I know time is relative, but my stomach has a pattern, my dog’s stomach has a pattern and it’s a pain to have to change all of the clocks, so please, let’s put an end to this. I have more important things to complain about.
One of those things is baseball. I really can’t comprehend how people who have made more money than most of us can ever dream and own a team and a bunch of guys who make more money than most of us can ever dream of, can sit down and destroy their sport for no apparent reason. Their agreement expired last fall, but no one did any real meeting until there was no time left. Now they are canceling games and killing whatever enthusiasm there was for the season. The sad part is as wages go up, fans are footing the bill with higher parking, tickets and concessions, but we don’t get a seat at the negotiating table. There’s an old saying about a “golden goose.” I fear they are getting close.
