“April winds blow,
and daffodils
Dance in gowns
with yellow frills,
Streaming between
bare branches of trees,
Flowers bud from under
the freeze.”
By Dorothy O’Neill

Our side yard is so pretty, with yellow and purple crocuses cropping up all over the place. We still don’t have our daffodils open as yet but I did see quite a few open daffodils down along the front wall of the Murphy School the other evening. They looked wonderful. The huge pile of snow outside St. Christopher’s rectory is finally gone. It took Sunday’s heavy rain to finish it off. While we were in church this weekend, Hubby and I thought that we heard a mourning dove. Then we definitely heard it a second time. When we came out of church to get in our car, we heard it again. There, on top of the church, was the mourning dove. I hope he stays close. I love to hear him. When we visited our friends’ (the Kenneys) cottage a few years ago, down the Cape, I would sit at the picnic table in front of the cottage and read the newspapers while listening to the sounds of the mourning doves.

On St. Patrick’s Day, Hubby, Daughter Sue, our friend Eileen Burke, and I drove to Gerard’s for some Irish fun. We knew that WROL, the radio station that carries the Irish Hit Parade on Saturdays, would be broadcasting from the restaurant from noon to 1 p.m. We were early for lunch and, even then, the restaurant was almost filled. Photographer Bill Brett was sitting at the counter and greeted us as we entered the dining area. Eileen ordered Gerard’s wonderful corned beef. Hubby had already eaten Gerard’s boiled dinner the previous week so he had a pot roast dinner. As we looked around the restaurant, we saw that many of the people were there for the traditional boiled dinner. Our waitress Barbara asked us to sit at a free table in the corner. Our friend Theresa was waitressing in another part of the restaurant but came over to wish us all a Happy St. Patrick’s Day.

No sooner had we sat down than our friend Gregory Ashe came in with his family and a family friend, Sarah Doherty. Gregory’s daughter, Karen Doherty, joined us for a few minutes. She and her husband Kevin were with Gregory and Sarah because their son Kevin Jr. had been asked by Gerard to entertain the diners with his fiddle throughout the day. Kevin, who is a teenager, played well last year. He was even better this year. As soon as Kevin began to play, he came over near us. We all clapped as he finished each of his selections.

As we started to eat, more of our friends came in for lunch. Pals Loretta Philbick and Ginny Biagiotti came over to chat. Mary O’Rourke and Mary Reardon waved to us as they ate. I heard our waitress say that all the tables were occupied and that there was a line waiting to get into the restaurant. As we finished our dinner, Bill Brett came into our dining area. Accompanying him was Greg Wayland, from New England Cable News (Ch. 6 on our Comcast Cable Service). A cameraman came along with Greg. We could hardly wait to see what Greg was going to videotape. We were, however, afraid to stay any longer because there was such demand for seats. With a bag of scones from the Greenhills held tightly in our hands, we drove home where we turned on the Irish music on Ch. 501 on Comcast TV.

We checked Ch. 6, New England Cable News, several times during the afternoon but we did not see Greg’s segment. We didn’t get a chance to look at the channel later that evening. When I got into work the next morning, my friend Bill went onto the New England Cable News’s website and found Greg’s St. Patrick’s Day segment. It was a very flattering view of Adams Corner, Greg’s old hometown. The cameraman had first focused on Kevin and his fiddle. Then Greg went over to Kevin Sr. and asked him a few questions about Kevin Jr. and how often he practiced the fiddle. Greg’s segment then showed the area outside Greenhills Bakery. He also went inside to interview Cindy Quinn, who owns Greenhills with her husband Dermot. Cindy told Greg how busy the bakery was because of St. Patrick’s Day.

The next part of the TV film showed the Boston Police Gaelic Column walking down Adams St. while playing their bagpipes. (My friend Mike had told me earlier that there had been a lone bagpiper, playing earlier that morning in Adams Corner.) The Boston Police group then went right into the Erie Pub and serenaded the pub’s patrons. I think I saw my friend Judy sitting at the pub and enjoying the festivities. I told daughter Sue about Greg Wayland’s piece about the Adams Corner festivities on St. Patrick’s Day. She e-mailed the family about it and told them where to find the segment on New England Cable News’s website. The next morning I received an e-mail from my friend Anne O’Hara, Greg Wayland’s sister, who told me that Greg had e-mailed her, mentioning that he had seen me at Gerard’s on St. Patrick’s Day. It is, indeed, a small world.

I love hearing the new ad on WBZ radio urging listeners to come to the West Coast of Ireland. It mentions the Cliffs of Moher among other attractions, but the one that really tugs at my heartstrings is that you must visit Matt Molloy’s Pub when you visit Westport, County Mayo. My Irish relatives once owned the property that is now the pub so I am thrilled when I hear the ad.

I just received our copy of Channel 2’s (WGBH) Members’ Guide for April. In the guide, there is a half page ad for the Boston Pops. The Pops, this year, will run from Wed., May 6, to Sun., June 21. We will definitely try to get to the Pops this spring.

If you are a senior, you will be pleased to learn the date of the yearly “Salute to Dorchester Seniors” luncheon, a function of Dorchester Day activities. This year, the luncheon will be held on Thurs., May 21, noon to 3 p.m. at the Kennedy Library. Applications for the limited amount of tickets will soon be available at senior centers and at senior housing sites. It is a great event.

In March, Hubby, daughter Sue, our friend Eileen, and I were pleased to attend the Irish Pastoral Centre’s monthly luncheon at the Irish Cultural Centre in Canton. We are able to read about all the lovely functions to be held at the Cultural Centre in upcoming weeks. On Sat., Apr. 11, there will be a “Journey Into Irish Culture,” as part of the monthly Family Saturday Programming Series. The hour-long program is designed for children and families and will provide a mini journey into Irish music, instruments, sports, and dance. After the program, attendees will be invited to participate in a fun-filled Easter Egg Hunt, with a possible visit from a special guest. For ICC members, the event is free; general admission is $3 per person. That sounds like a delightful way for the kids to spend the Saturday before Easter.

There is another event at the Irish Cultural Centre that looks wonderful. The ICC will hold a Fashion Show and Afternoon Tea on Sun., Apr. 19 at 2 p.m. Admission is $20 per person. For tickets, or to reserve a table, call 617-969-1992 or 781-767-3914.

Many a night, Larry Glick kept me company when I was up with our kids when they were little so it was, with regret, that I heard that Larry had passed away on Mar. 26 in Florida following 10 hours of heart surgery. He was 87. I loved listening to snippets of Larry’s radio program on WBZ when Larry was the host of the all-night program from 1968 to 1986. Larry called public phone booths all over the world and spoke with whoever answered the phone. Most of the time it worked out beautifully. Larry even left WBZ and went to WHDH. In those years, a radio personality could not appear on another station in the same radio market for one year. WHDH thought so much of Larry that they paid him his yearly salary to stay home for one year until he could be on the air at WHDH. There will be more tributes to Larry on WBZ. If I hear what days any of the tributes are to be held, I will put the dates in the column. Sad to say, I never won a Glick University t-shirt!

The Norovirus, a gastrointestinal illness that felled Hubby for a few days about six weeks ago, is rearing its ugly head again. I saw, on the internet, that Babson College had to close until Wednesday of this week because of the virus. More than 100 students and staff were felled by the virus. One good thing: it doesn’t last too long.

If you head over to Doyle’s Café on Washington St. in Jamaica Plain this Sunday, Apr. 5, you will witness the start of the 13th annual Emerald Necklace Road Race at 11 a.m. The proceeds of this race benefit the Boston Police Gaelic Column. I understand that Doyle’s Sunday Brunch is excellent. We must get over there some Sunday morning.

With the opening of the baseball season upon us, here is a fitting quote by George Herman “Babe” Ruth: “Never let the fear of striking out get in your way.”