The color green is everywhere today in celebration of St. Patrick's Day.
There is even an active movement in my area to have St. Patrick's Day recognized as a national holiday by the government, instead of just those of Irish heritage and those who imagine that there is Irish in their lineage.
'Tis fun to be Irish green. It gives people an excuse to drink - in some cases - copious amounts of green beer and Irish Whiskey, eat corned-beef cabbage until they could burst, and pinch others who don't wear green on this day.
Seeing all this "green" made me think of other meanings for the word "green".
There is the environmental usage of the word "green" but 'tis not fun to be that green. It is work to be e-green - rewarding, though, that it may be. Actually, being Irish green and e-green are the antithesis of each other. For those who will unabashedly celebrate St. Patty's Day, the end result is tons of glass beer bottles (which can at least be recycled), tons of plastic beer glasses and pitchers (which will rest forever in landfills with plastic bags and disposable diapers), and the ensuing methane gas from all the cattle needed to fill the world's taste for beef.
Don't get irate with me. I'm just quoting all the facts (?) and figures thrown about by our policy wonks.
Then there is the former association with "green" meaning money, which hardly anyone has much of any more.
Green used to be in my grandmother's 'icebox' but that was not a positive indication back then.
Lastly, there is the centuries-old phrase "green with envy", which can have a different meaning for every human on the planet. We are all "green with envy" towards some person or group for a myriad of reasons.
Me? I'm just green with envy towards anyone who can still eat beef.
Happy St. Patricks' Day. I'll dream about a good steak tonight. No medium-rare for this blogger!
Ancora imparo
