Parades and St. Patrick's Day by Craig Johnson

I grew up with the Sheridan WY rodeo parade an absolute must ... day off from the hayfield for everyone to go. Full day of parade, rodeo, "brush track" horse racing and carnival. Absolutely everyone in our little ranching community 60 miles north of Sheridan (in Montana) took off to go.

But for the ranch communities then ... in the 50s ... it was the one opportunity for ranchers' families to get together with friends and neighbors they did not often see ... a badly needed day off for socializing.

As an adult, married to a police officer and working as a dispatcher in Sheridan, I had a slightly different view of things ... remember well some of the altercations that took place on Main Street. One bar on one side was the "cowboy bar" ... the bar across the street was the "coal miners bar" and things could get pretty western at times. However, it was never dull.

I'd really like to see something happen in one of the books at one of the small town rodeos ... the ones where they still have the wild horse races, wild cow milkings and relay races with local "fast horses".

I'm not going to whine that you are not writing fast enough ... you aren't, but I also have to assume you would like to have some sort of life other than sitting behind a word processor ... but I am so looking forward to another visit with the people "back home" ...

Craig,

What parade should get the ex-Governor Spitzer as its marshal this year?

Mugsy

Waiting impatiently for your new book, but in the meantime reading your hilarious blog about policing in New York is a great stopgap. Thanks for your memories!

Mary

Craig!
Exciting stuff to see you have written a blog! Yay for us! Cannot WAIT until your new book is out. Write more stuff soon!

That's an unforgettable image, Craig. I lived in Manhattan around that time, and some parades you avoided because they bunged up traffic or generally made life inconvenient, but St. Paddy's - that was the day you avoided the block around the Old Town Bar. Or any of the big loft restaurants downtown that attracted the bridge and tunnel crowd. Oh, and kept out of the subways. You didn't want to be stuck underground with large clusters of belligerent or lost drunks. The first would try to pick a fight, and the others would ask directions and lean in very very close..

Hi Craig-o... it's been a while since you've been home huh? West Virginia has parades to ya' know? Not sure where because I've never seen one but I do remember one time in Chicago we went to a Macy's parade and it was like 20 below and snowing and windy and you couldn't hardly see anything for all the trash blowing around but still it was fun.

I'm glad they finally turned you lose on the net my friend.... be careful, there are people reading what you say.

All the best,
Mike.

As always a major pleasure to read Craig Johnson on any subject. Thanks for having him work out here.

Great to see little old Meeteetse in the blogosphere! Our little parade has hit the big time!

I feel somewhat foolish commenting on parades OR St. Patrick's Day..., given the fact that I, while observing all of my co-workers dressed in green this morning, was overhead to say, "What? Is today that Irish day or something?" I was a little preoccupied, okay? But then, my mother never let us trick or treat, either. To say the least, it would not be an understatement to observe that I have not been persuaded to value either day. Since I am not, however, neither Irish or nor witchy (except on Hallowe'en, when another word would be more accurate) I suppose it doesn't matter.... It doesn't keep me from having something to say on a blog apparently....

We don't have parades in Rock Springs, WY, but I have thought someone might try to dye the Bitter Creek green. Wait! It already is green, just not the pretty St. Patrick's Day color. However, the legislature is kicking in to get it cleaned up. Who knows, maybe someday it will be a famous riverwalk?

Craig,
Parades do bring out eclectic, albeit interesting, groups of people. Want an interesting experience? Try the St. Patrick's Day parade in Butte, Montana. Ever been? You'll probably see it on the news this evening! :-)

Thanks for keeping me in the loop.
Joanna

You might want to add the Cooke City, MT parade to your Bucket List. It is held in the summer - when, I am not sure - but friends witnessed it once and still talk about the experience. Cooke City may have 4 blocks for the parade route and that year the "queen" rode in a front loader decorated with a few balloons. The parade rolled down the main drag, bar patrons came out to watch all 3 or 4 minutes as it passed, went back in the bar and came out a couple of minutes later to watch as it rolled by on its return trip. We were fortunate (?) enough to experience the parade a day late one year...the old cars (1970's) were still decorated with a few whisps of pink crepe paper and a balloon or two. Don't know if they have a parade marshall...you could probably enter yourselves and your dogs.

Margie from Cody

Hey Craig, I've done the Meeteetse Parade! I grew up in Cody and you haven't really lived until you've done that parade, except it is too damn long.

I loved the blog post. The Penguin people probably are desperate but you're as good a solution as some and better than most.

I really do wish you'd get back to work and get the next novel out. It is altogether too long between books.