Please let me wish you an early happy St. Patrick’s Day. Ideally I would save this blog post for tomorrow but we all know what happens with Don’t Blink on Thursdays. So, to preserve the tradition of the Thursday Rundown, I am writing my short St. Patrick’s Day post tonight.

I am a fan of St. Patrick’s Day. I like the patron saint for who the holiday is in honor of, I enjoy Irish accents, and I admire how most people make an honest effort to wear green. The day of March 17 brings out unity from everyone, not just the Irish, and I respect that. You can also never go wrong with a green beer.

Me sporting a St. Pat’s shirt. My parents’ trip to Myrtle Beach coincided with the weekend before St. Patrick’s Day 2015.

But there is one aspect of St. Patrick’s Day I like the most. Strangely enough it isn’t a particular event, food, or symbol. Rather, it is a sound.

I don’t think there is anything more beautiful, respectful, and stoic than the sound of bagpipes. Not only is the music pleasing to the ear, it is just so distinctive. To me, there isn’t anything that screams Irish heritage more than bagpipes. The instrument is completely one of a kind.

I guess I do get a little nostalgic when I hear bagpipes. I immediately think of St. Patrick’s Day parades with my dad and siblings back when I was a kid. I am on the sidewalk of downtown Walla Walla and I see the green colors, I smell the horses, and I hear that powerful sound cut through the cold morning air like a knife through warm butter. Please take me back…

So while I have pleasant memories of bagpipes I don’t base my love solely on that. Even if I didn’t hear the unique sound on an annual basis through my early childhood, I would have been immediately drawn to it the moment I heard it as an adult. There just isn’t anything like those mournful notes. If there was a bagpipes radio station I would seriously listen to it during my 20 minute commute to work. Frankly, it just makes me feel some type of way.

Remember to wear green tomorrow! To all my Irish friends, take time to enjoy your well-deserved day and if you know someone who plays the bagpipes, please send her/him my way. Don’t Blink.