“I’ve come to the St. Paddy’s parade in Jackson for 20 years. We set up our spot on Friday afternoon and camp out overnight on air mattresses and grill hamburgers and sausage.  It’s good times, good music, good food, and good drink. 

I wear a kilt on parade day. The first time I wore a kilt, I realized that ladies kept this secret from men. Kilts are so comfortable that I want to become Irish so I can always wear one. 

I am from New Orleans and grew up on Mardi Gras. I bring beads from those parades and give them out to kids to throw here in the children’s parade. Passing down the celebration is my favorite part.

I was a paramedic for 15 years. It’s a hard job, but we did what we were taught in school to save lives – there was a time for tears and beers after the shift ended. The deaths of too many kids got to me, and it was time for a new career. My next job was roasting coffee. Now I have a company that installs TV monitors that advertise bail bondsmen and attorneys in detention centers. It’s a captive audience. Working in detention centers is a reminder that we all have our issues. I don’t just have issues – I have the whole lifetime subscription.

This St. Paddy’s weekend restores my hope in humans when I see us getting along.  We embrace each other and have a great time, but the parade ends and we go back to the way things were. How do we keep this going for the rest of the year?”

Gavin