What Did You Wear Today? Did You Wear Your Orange?

Posted onAuthorcahwyguy

In honor of St. Patrick’s Day, my father’s favorite holiday:

The Policeman walked out, oh, so proud on his beat,
When a vision came to him of stripes on his sleeve
“Promotion,” he whispered, “I’ll try for today;
So come with me, Mister Ri-Tooral-i-ay.”

Come tell me your name, says the limb of the law.
To the little fat man selling wares on the straw.
“What’s that sir, me name sir? Why ’tis there on display,
And it’s Moses Ri-Tooral-i-ay.”

Now the trial came on and lasted a week.
One Judge said ’twas German; another ’twas Greek.
“Prove you’re Irish,” said the policeman and beyond it say “nay”;
And we’ll sit on it, Moses Ri-Tooral-i-ay.

     Now, the prisoner stepped up there as stiff as a crutch.
Are you Irish or English or German or Dutch?
“I’m a Jew sir; I’m a Jew sir, that came over to stay,
And my name it is Moses Ri-Tooral-i-ay.”

“We’re two of a kind,” said the judge to the Jew;
“You’re a cousin of Briscoe and I am one too.
This numskull has blundered and for it will pay.”
“Wisha that’s right,” says Moses Ri-Tooral-i-ay.

There’s a garbage collector who works down our street
He once was a policeman, the pride of his beat.
And he moans all the night and he groans all the day,
Singing, Moses Ri-Tooral-i-ooral-i-ay.

Of course, this raises the question I always have on days like this: We know what it was like for the Catholics (Green). We know what it was like for the Proddys (Orange). What was it like for the Jews in Ireland? Is this a day we should be celebrating? This is why, if I had my druthers, I’d wear both green and orange, because I’m conflicted. And by the way, this problem doesn’t exist just for Jews: deedeebythebay has an interesting post regarding the propriety of pagans wearing green on St. Patrick’s day, given that St. Pat forcibly converted Pagans (the snakes) to Christianity.

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