Toga parties and corned beef

I'd forgotten to "spring forward" Saturday night. So when I woke up at 4 a.m. on Sunday and was emailing my friend in Atlanta to complain about our mutual insomnia, he reminded me. Small consolation that had it been Saturday morning, I'd have been awake at the even more evil hour of 3 a.m. No good can come of that. Keeping in mind that according to my 8th grade algebra teacher "idle hands are the devil's workshop" I decided to look up holidays for the upcoming week.

According to Wikipedia, The Ides of March is celebrated every year by the Rome Hash House Harriers with a toga run in the streets of Rome, in the same place where Julius Caesar was killed. But "Ides" themselves simply mean the 15th of the month. Well, most months. Some months, The Ides are on the 13th. Don't ask me why. 

On the heels of Caeser's demise comes Ireland's big holiday, St Patrick's Day. Also known as "The Wearing of Green," St Paddy's originally commemorated St Patrick driving the snakes out of Ireland. How that translates to out of control parades and green beer is anybody's guess.

Anyway you shake it, it's a week to to have some fun with friends, both old and new. Whether you don togas (clean sheets, please!) on Tuesday and toss up the eponymous Caesar salad, or venture out on Thursday night with Shamrock wearing friends, enjoy the extra hour of daylight. If you're new in town, or just don't know anybody else who's unashamed to leave the house in plaid bed sheets, know that help is on the way. Heyletssplitit will soon be in your town, to unite you with others who share your interests in shopping, sharing, saving...and maybe shillelaghs.

As for me, I'll just enjoy the temporary  reprieve from the paper carrier seeing me in my pajamas. Because once again it's dark at delivery time.