Chicago residents were told this year that the annual St. Patrick’s Day celebration in-town would be cancelled due to the pandemic. However, the city surprised its residents with a little spontaneity. Even though the annual dyeing of the river green was cancelled, too, residents heard on March 13 that the river would be dyed for St. Patrick’s Day in keeping with the annual tradition after all.

Evidently to turn the river green, two boats use flour sifters to dump an orange vegetable powder into the river. It takes about forty pounds of this environmentally safe powder to turn the river green. When the orange powder hits the river, it turns green for some reason. Both boats ride in the river for about forty-five minutes to mix up the powder in the river, and it stay green for a few days.

Other cities that turn their waters green for St. Patrick’s Day are Tampa, San Antonio, Indianapolis, and Jamestown (New York). Savannah, Georgia TRIED to dye their river one year, but it didn’t work out well, so they dye the water in some of the public fountains in Forsyth Park.

If you are planning on going to any of these places, make sure you check to see if the dying of the green is cancelled due to the pandemic first.

Find a reason to celebrate today, even if you are not Irish. Happy St. Patrick’s Day, and may the “luck of the Irish” be with us all this year.

Life is short; carpe diem, friends…….