Show Savannah how we celebrate

You know it's summer in Ireland when the rain gets warmer.

-- Hal Roach

Happy St. Patrick's Day. I hope you have your green on.

As usual, I will comply with the custom by wearing a dark green tie patterned with pale green shamrocks. I have had it so long I don't remember its origin, although by the narrow width I suspect 1983.

And despite what you hear about all the fun in Savannah, let me tell you that celebrating St. Patrick's Day is one of Augusta's oldest traditions.

If you go to my Our Town blog on augustachronicle.com, you'll see that this holiday used to be bigger than Christmas.

So celebrate.

Today should be sunny, the temperature mild, and even the trees are now showing their green.

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MAN ON THE RUN: My race-running season began this weekend with some success.

First, I braved Saturday morning's chilly drizzle to dazzle the 5-kilometer field in an Afghanistan charity run at Wesley United Methodist Church in Evans.

My first objective was to finish.

My second objective was to pass all the competing teenagers from my high school Sunday school class who thought this would be a commendable project.

Both missions were achieved.

But the big surprise was that I came in second in my age category (Somewhere-Over-50-But-Still-Breathing) division and won a modest prize.

Don't think I didn't rub that in during Sunday morning's lesson. Ecclesiastes tells us the race isn't always won by the swift.

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MAIL CALL: Stephanie Fell sends greetings from Harrah's Casino in Tunica, Miss., where she "just finished the Paula Dean buffet. Fabulous Southern food."

Dennis and Marcia Patterson , of Augusta, had a "great time" during Bike Week in Daytona Beach, Fla. And Sue and Bill Guthrie , of Aiken, are in Phoenix attending an Elderhostel to watch the Chicago Cubs in spring training.

Lloyd and Lynn Creech , of North Augusta, are also enjoying baseball, and send a card from Bradenton, Fla., Southern home of the Pittsburgh Pirates.

"Every So Often Push Your LUCK" says a postcard from I.J. It sort of looks like a ticket with perforations around the edge, so I showed it to my wife the other night when I came home late from work.

(Didn't work.)

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TODAY'S JOKE: After church one Sunday morning, a mother commented, "The choir was awful this morning."

The father commented, "The sermon was too long."

But their 7-year-old daughter added, "You've got to admit it was a pretty good show for a dollar."

Reach Bill Kirby at (706) 823-3344 or bill.kirby@augustachronicle.com.