For him, St. Patrick's Day parade is one long 'labor of love'

— -- A husband and father, John P. Forbes runs a family business, Colonial Couriers, in Savannah, Ga. But there has to be something a little mad about him. Otherwise, why would the 39-year-old head up the city's St. Patrick's Day parade committee? His mission as general chairman: Keep the line moving. "You typically don't do it more than two years," he says with a chuckle. The parade is a 184-year-old tradition, and it's huge. Forbes' committee is 750-strong. The party around it is even larger, known for better or worse as one of the biggest beer bashes in the South. The parade is early this year — March 14 — to avoid Holy Week. USA TODAY looks into Forbes' world.

Q: So, how much time does this job take?

A: From December through March, it's pretty much a 50-50 split between my job and this job.

Q: How long is this parade?

A: It kicks off at 10:15, and we try to have everyone off the street by 3.

Q: Long!

A: Yes, long. The route is 3.1 miles. And there are people at every spot, five and six deep all the way around.

Q: How many units?

A: 325.

Q: Lots of bands?

A: Yes, this year about 60. We've got a bunch of music.

Q: So, how do you keep the integrity of the parade with all the debauchery going on around it?

A: We're family-oriented, a lower-key celebration as opposed to the Mardi Gras atmosphere down on the (Savannah) river. It's kind of crazy. As an Irish Catholic, this parade is what St. Patrick's Day is all about. We didn't ask for that down there. But people are making too much money now to go back.

Q: Who's the parade favorite?

A: The 3rd Infantry Division from Fort Stewart. People go nuts. They get the biggest cheers. But they're deployed to Iraq this year. Then there's the small pipe band from the Benedictine Military School. They're always a crowd favorite.

Q: Do you have the luck of the Irish when it comes to weather?

A: Our chaplain always guarantees the weather will be good on St. Patrick's Day, but the parade isn't going to be on St. Patrick's Day this year. I think it was in 2004 or so that it rained buckets. Rained all day. We stepped off at 10:15 as usual. We just did it with umbrellas. The odd thing was the grand marshal that year was a plumber, but he couldn't stop the leak.