St. Paddy's Day Fun

It's was raining out this morning. A front came in and with all the hype of the crazy high winds we were supposed to get, it actually wasn't so bad. I got off work this morning and the night wasn't a bad one. Just one arching pole call which is about 5 or 6 less than what i expected. Every time a storm blows in we get eleventeen million 911 calls about the wires popping and sparking in people's yards, but last night was chill. All in all, it was a good shift. We did have one call that could have been gruesome: a body recovery. This lady hadn't been seen for about a week and there was an odor coming from her house. We forced entry, got in, and it was like a straight up horror movie inside there. A long, dark hallway with glowing eyes from a black dog at the end of it. The dog takes off to the right, and we're slowly making our way down the hallway passing filthy rooms thanks to the dogs who have been unattended for a week. Pass one bedroom on the right and there's a bed torn up and covered with dog crap. Move on down the hallway past the bathroom to the right and there's a dead dog lying on the floor. And then finally at the end of the house in the kitchen on the floor is the occupant. Long gone, with that black dog guarding her by her side. We were on air the whole time so we didn't have to breathe in the stench of a long dead body. Hopefully it was quick and painless for her. We left and PD took care of the rest.
I don't know how to transition from a body recovery to St. Patrick's day so I'm not gonna try. Three nights ago was one of the best St. Patrick's Day celebrations i've ever been a part of. I couldn't believe i was still in Corpus. Cassidy's Irish Pub threw together their 1st Annual Block Festival. Guinness everywhere, live music, performances, and tons of people in the street wearing green. I had a blast. I'm already looking forward to next year. You really had to be there. I saw so many people i knew. I don't know how many off duty firefighters were there, and then on top of everything, i followed some friends up to a random loft overlooking the block party and come to find out the guy who lives there with his girlfriend is an old friend from middle school and one of his guests is my best friend from 6th-8th grade. What are the chances of that? It was a ton of fun catching up with him. I'm kinda pissed that i didn't think to take a picture. It's crazy when you think back about being kids and running around outside, playing basketball and home run derby in empty lots, and now i'm a firefighter and he's a doctor and those memories are 20+ years old. Wow. It was really cool seeing my old buddy Antonio. St. Paddy's Day 2012 was definitely one to remember.