St. Patrick’s Day has always been one of my favorite holidays. When I was a kid my family went out to group dinner that served traditional meals, and when I was a teenager we made them at home. I dressed all in green, spoke in a slightly poor accent, and sprinkled in Irish words for the fun of the holiday. There was one thing I always wanted to do, but could not due to school dress codes or lack of going out. After all, what was the fun of it if no one got to see it?
When I got a job at a fast food restaurant at age 19, however, all of that changed. My intention was to dye my hair “Dark Spring Green”, permitted by my manager. The bottle I picked out, however, didn’t play nice with my hair. When I finished… it turned a bright electric green instead.
I was utterly mortified. There was no way I could go to work looking the way I did, I looked like I had a lawn growing out of my head. But I couldn’t afford to call out for such a silly reason, especially since the dye would last a few days longer and calling out for the way my hair looked would not go over well my managers at all.
So I swallowed my pride and went to work the next day, lawn head and all. I expected a few laughs at my expense, and I did get them. A few insults, mostly from middle school student, were flung at me as well, the most notable of which was “Pea Head”, quickly turning into them calling me “Pee Wee Herman’s Green Haired Cousin”.
But despite that my hair went over rather well! I received complements from co-workers and customers alike, a few kids ask me where I got my hair dye, elder couples and I laughed about staying away from the dye brand, and we even had a indie Irish band come in for lunch before going to a local bar to play, the lead singer of which complimented my dedication to the St. Patrick’s Day spirit.
It wasn’t my best or my worst St. Patrick’s Day, not by a long shot in either direction. But it was certainly one of the most memorable to date, though I do tend to stick to green dresses, jewelry, and hats now.