Prologue:

The documentary filmmakers stopped filming at Dunder Mifflin Scranton in May of 2007. The unrequited love story of Jim Halpert and Pam Beesly had come to good stopping point: the documentary viewers could assume a ‘happily ever after’ ending.

The other story, that of a paper company struggling to stay afloat in the modern business world, had taken a strange turn with Ryan Howard’s sudden jump from ‘temp’ to ‘big boss.’ The decision was made to end the documentary with that surprise, leaving the viewer to speculate about the sudden turn of events. As the saying goes, “always leave them wanting more.”

Work, airing on PBS in twelve one-hour segments over January and February of 2009, was hugely popular, surpassing even the ratings of Ken Burns’ latest offering. Because of this, the organizers of Scranton’s 2009 St. Patrick’s Day parade scurried to get as many of their new hometown celebrities in the parade as possible.

St. Patrick’s Day Parade, March 14, 2009

TV Anchors Eric Fitzgerald and Candice Holden sat quietly as makeup artists hovered around them, doing some final touchups. Their box above the parade route gave them an excellent vantage point; the camera would capture the parade behind them as they commented on it, and cameras nearer to the parade would provide close-ups. The makeup people slipped away; someone counted down, “five, four, three,” then silently signaled and mouthed the words “two” and “one,” and pointed at Eric and Candice. It was ‘go time.’

“Good afternoon – we’re coming to you live from the parade route in Scranton, Pennsylvania. I’m Eric Fitzgerald.”

“And I’m Candice Holden. It’s an exciting day, Eric.”

“Indeed it is, Candice. Parade day. As always for the St. Patrick’s Day parade here at WBRE, we’ll be providing live coverage of the entire glorious spectacle.”

“That’s right, Eric. And we should mention that it’s the 48th annual St. Patrick’s Day parade in Scranton; the event began in 1962, and has been going strong since then.”

“It’s a tradition here in the Electric City,” Eric said, “and great fun for the whole family. But it’s even more exciting this year, isn’t it, Candice?”

“It is, Eric. The parade organizers went above and beyond this year. Not only do we have our usual floats, bagpipe players, marching bands, Irish dancers, and much more, but we also have our very own celebrities, the stars of the recent PBS documentary, Work, participating in the parade today.”

“And that documentary just aired last month, so the organizers really hustled, I think, to get a lot of these people to come. Or maybe they anticipated well, and knew how popular Work would end up being,” said Eric.

“Whichever it was, they did a great job. Most of the Work stars, or as we like to call them, “Workers,” will be here today.”

“And we’ve been hard at work,” Eric gave emphasis to the word to emphasize his pun, “here at WBRE, because everyone wants to know what the Workers have been doing since May of 2007 when filming ended, and today we’re going to update all the fans on that.”

“It’s so exciting,” Candice said. “So everyone should stay tuned, right here at WBRE, and we’ll be back right after this commercial, bringing you all the coverage of the parade, including the news on all your favorite Workers.”

“Yes, stayed tuned; we’ll be back with the start of the parade.”

"It was, Candice. I just can't get enough of them, can you?"

"No, I sure can't. What fun. But now, we've been mentioning that Katy from Work was coming up, and here she is, finally! She's been following the Highlanders around today."

"I hope she's wearing earplugs, Candice."

"So do I, Eric," Candice laughed. "There's no volume control on the Highlanders!"

The nearby monitor showed Katy sitting atop the back seat of a convertible, all bundled up in her winter coat and wearing a green scarf with shamrocks around her neck. She smiled widely at the people to her left and right, waving casually. Every so often, she seemed to see friends in the audience and would wave more wildly at them and shout a hello.

Eric looked at the close-up on the monitor. "She's just the very picture of an Irish girl on St. Patrick's Day, isn't she?"

"She sure is, Eric. The funny thing about Katy is that she didn't get a lot of air time in the documentary, since she doesn't actually work at Dunder Mifflin, but she just caught fire with the audience; they loved her from the start."

"That's right, and who wouldn't, Candice?"

"Well, Jim Halpert, for one," replied Candice with a smile and raised eyebrows. "But I guess we can forgive him for that - he was so clearly in love with Pam Beesly."

"True. And our audience can rest assured that Katy has recovered quite nicely from any heartbreak she may have experienced during the filming," said Eric.

"Yes, it's time for an update on Katy," Candice said, "and we can tell you that not only has Katy taken Scranton by storm, but she's been contacted about selling her purses on-line and in boutique stores. And, Eric, she's also gotten a number of marriage proposals from strangers."

Eric nodded in agreement, smiling. "Well, I can understand that. Our Katy is a lovely girl. For all those lonely-hearted men out there, though, I'm afraid that Katy isn't interested. She won't give any details, but she told us in an exclusive WBRE interview that she's ‘taken.'"

"Well, Eric, we're surely taken with her. And she looks beautiful today. Irish eyes are truly smiling."

"Indeed," agreed Eric. "And speaking of Irish eyes, passing now are the Friendly Sons of St. Patrick and the Society of Irish Women, crowd pleasers every year, and this year is no exception..."