St. Patty’s Day in Butte America

That’s the ticket!

St. Patty’s in Butte (Non-fiction)

College - 2007

Early March 17th, 2007 I am in my small uptown apartment gearing up to attend the St. Patrick’s Day festivities in uptown Butte that mainly consist of a short but exciting parade followed by hours upon hours of drinking green beers.

My attire is thus and in order of importance. My school backpack full of 12oz cans of Miller Lite. A sage green Cold Gear mock neck Under Armor undershirt. Green hoodie that says Butte Fecking America. It says that because that’s how the Irish would say it. A green Boston Red Socks cap, cash and green subclasses in the style of Kanye West the College Dropout.

The morning is hazy looking back on it but I vaguely remember the parade, day drinking, getting some Corned Beef and Cabbage for lunch at the Knights of Columbus hall, drinking Guinness from a can, taking shots of bad Irish whisky with strangers in the streets of uptown Butte, watching fist fight after fist fight in piss soaked back alleys and cold sidewalks. .

Keith at the KC

Later after the parade and after quiet a few drinks, me and some friends of mine ventured over to the Vu Villa around dinner time, trying to find food to fill our beer filled bellies. Nick, Keith and I wanted to eat so badly, we knew the Vu served pizza and beer so it was a win-win.

When we got to the busy bar, the bartender informed us that the bar was not serving pizza that day. Fuuuuuuuk.

Being resourceful kids we asked the bartender if we could order a pizza from another fine pie establishment and quietly eat it inside the bar.

Sure says the busy bartender.

So I call a local pizza joint called Trimbo’s Pizza. I said I wanted a medium pepperoni pizza delivered to the Vu Villa.

Wait did you say the Vu Villa?

“Yeah, they said it’s cool.”

Alright then

Nick eating his Trimbo’s Pizza at the Vu Villa

So twenty minutes later we are munching on a giant pie in the corner of the Vu Villa, near the window looking out on Park Street. We look like three drunk Ninja Turtles dressed in green clothes, green hats, party beads, green sunglasses and green stickers.

———

Fast forward to a month later in April, Keith and I go into Trimbo’s to get some pizza and we see on the peg board next to the register an order ticket with the words Vu Villa written at the top. Accompanying that ticket is my name at the top, my cell phone number (written wrong by the way, I was pretty drunk), the description of the order is written out. Medium Pepperoni, $11 bucks. That was our ticket. They found it so hilarious that they delivered a pizza to a pizza shop that they decided to display it for all to see.

We were to live on in history forever, for as long as Trimbo’s was still in business which is well…

———

Back to St. Patrick’s Day, later that night I meet up with my girlfriend who was working all day to get some actual dinner. I leave but my buddies don’t want me to take the backpack full of beer, so I hand it to my dear friend Nick who promises to not lose it.

Three hours later my girlfriend and I come back uptown to find Nick. He says he is at the M&M bar, by far the busiest bar in Butte on St. Patrick’s day, so much so they have a live stream camera inside displaying all the 24 hour Irish folks. Keith is no where to be found and for all we know he is back home passed out but if I had to guess he was still being Mr. Rager out there on the streets of Butte. I find Nick talking to a girl in a far corner in the bussiest bar in town. People are elbow-to-asshole in this place. Getting through the crowd was nearly impossible.

I find Nick.

Sans college backpack.

“Where is my backpack?”

What backpack?

Fuck. Guess I’ll drop out of school now since I have nothing to hold my books for me.

We decide to get out of the crowded bar. After waiting fifteen minutes to get beers, we are finally replenished and ready to get the fuck out of this fire hazard.

Selfies were still a new thing back then

We walk around uptown Butte mingling with people, drinking, chatting and watching fights, essentially just enjoying St. Pattys day in Butte America.

Out of the corner of my eye, I see it. Outside on the sidewalk sitting between the M&M Bar and the Party Palace is my backpack.

Empty of it’s contents, but she’s there in one piece. Reunited, relived and ready now to retire for the night.

I guess this means I don’t get to quit college.

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