So, as I was saying last Friday during FirstNews, we could get some decent snow! What? You don't remember it that way? Well, who are you going to believe? Me or your own ears!? The fact of the matter is that I mentioned flakes and flurries. Then, around 7:45 a.m. until 8:15 a.m., some parts of the area got an old-fashioned snow burst. It came down fast and furious at the worst time...complicating the last part of the morning rush. When it was all said and done, other than up around Maryville where they picked up around three or four inches, most folks ended up with little of the white stuff. It reminded me of a day when I was driving up to the airport with my wife and daughter, Samantha. She was about three at the time. My daughter not my wife. Anyway, snowflakes the size of flapjacks started to slap the windshield. Samantha leaned forward and said "Did you say it would snow, today, daddy?" Well, no. Everyone's a critic!

Now, I could mention that I did say it only takes a little snow at the wrong time...and, with the gusty winds, visibility could be a concern....and, that it would be cold and blustery all day. But, that would just sound like overly-defensive whining. I'm not above that but, instead, on Friday I chose to flee the scene and head from the weather center to Browne's Irish Market at 3300 Pennsylvania.

During FirstNews on KCWE, I got a chance to visit with Blarney O'Breccan, the new St. Patrick's Day leprechaun and lots of Irish lasses. Last Friday was the kick-off luncheon. Saturday was the first day of the Go For The Green food drive, to benefit Harvester's. Of course, on March 17, there is the parade! My great-grandmother had the last name of Hennigan and, since our trip to Ireland last year, I have to admit, I am feeling a little more Irish than usual this time of the year. If you want to experience some of Ireland without leaving town, head to Browne's for an Irish breakfast. They have all kinds of Emerald Isle goodies on the shelves...including an incense burner that looks like a little thatched-roof cottage and smells like peat! (They say you can also get the "Barry Fitzgerald" aroma...but I passed. He was a great actor but do I really want to smell him? Now, the "Pat O'Brien" is great!)

I know that Larry Moore has a number of green sweaters for this time of the year. Most of you know that Larry is quite tall...almost structurally unsound. When he wears his Irish sweaters he looks a little bit like a leprechaun on steroids. Well, this year, I had a special sweater to wear, as well. I actually bought one at the Blarney Castle. It seems only right for a weatherman to hang out around the Blarney Stone. The stone didn't seem too pleased. After I kissed it, I heard the stone spit "Phwwwwt!" and wipe his mouth. At least, I think it was his mouth.

As a kid, I dyed my hair green a couple of times for the holiday but, back then, with such dark hair, you could only really see the hue in the brightest of sunshine. Maybe I should try to do that dye-job again...with so much white hair and increasing scalp showing, the green would really be alarming. However, now that we have a green weather board, it would mean my green hair would disappear. Of course, most viewers understand I'm not all there, anyway.

So, will it be the Luck of the Irish in the weather department this week? So far, yes. Looking for 60s over the next couple of days which leads me to share the following e-mail:

"I was able to grill our first hamburgers of the 2008! They were so good. The best part is not having any pans to wash after dinner. Are we going to have snow in March or can I skip the pans until next November?

Tina
CEO of a domestic based operation handling wildlife

Wildlife species include
Nicholas (18), Dahlby (10), Jackson (8), Luke & Seth (7)."

Who needs Marlin Perkins and Jim Fowler? Tina has it in hand!

Now, see, with all that information you've totally forgotten about what happened last Friday morning. Right?