Pussy Willow Shortage Threatens Dyngus Day

Don't look now, but Dyngus Day fun is in jeopardy. An early Easter, combined with an unseasonable winter has put pussy willows in short supply. The pussy willow buds bursted out of their buds much earlier than usual meaning they began to flower early. So Dyngus day revelers may squirt you with their water gun, but have to resort to wacking  you on the tookus with a branch rather than the pussy willow to show you how they feel.It's led to a cold, hard black market for pussy willows with some growers resorting to auctioning off the pussy willows to the highest bidder. It could lead to a pussy willow panic. Eddie Dobosiewicz (Airborne Eddy), one of the Dyngus Day Buffalo organizers, is touting this as a Dyngus disaster.

 This is like Saint Patrick's Day without green beer or shamrock shakes. Luckily, smarter heads have prevailed and members of the Pussy Willow trade have been keeping them in water to lessen the effects of the shortage. Hopefully, they'll be enough pussy willows to go around and the tradition can continue in some fashion.

Still, with Buffalo being the Dyngus Day capitol of the world, organizers will march on with a parade through the historic Polonia District, beginning at the Broadway Market at 5 p.m, pussy willows or not. Some day you will tell your children about the Great Pussy Willow shortage of 2012.