Sunday March 7.

Something has changed.

For the last couple of weeks I have seen weak, tired sunlight on the other side of the shades early in the morning. I also have noticed that when I drive home after work I am in daylight. It is never something that I notice in increments. It just hits me that its not dark any more.


Here in the waning weeks of a very long, cold, dark, winter rich in snow and bitching about snow, the lengthening days give hope that there may yet be a day when we can venture outdoors without life support. Even yesterday and today we could get by most of the day in a light jacket. It is only a temporary respite. There are more days ahead of cold, cold rain, maybe some snow, and low temperatures. But it does appear our annual venture around the sun is still operating--not stalled permanently in late January.

In a month it will be close to tolerable outdoors; in two the trees will have their veil of fresh light green and high school seniors will be cleaning out lockers. And in only a couple of weeks the much-anticipated northern Missouri severe weather season will begin, a sure sign that we are into Spring. If not in name, at least in fact.

Some things break loose in March: the KC Auto Show, the Big 12 Basketball Tournaments, the NCAA 'Big Dance, Lent, Easter; all of them pointing toward more sunshine and warmer weather. As Thanksgiving usually leads us into cold weather, the Final Four lead us out of it.

As I write this the Academy Awards are on, that annual festival of celebrity self-appreciation. Although I don't have a lot of use for the aloof, liberal stars that sneer at our way of life and deride our wonderful country, the Oscars are good for one thing--they mean winter is almost over. Normally I'm not in that big a hurry for it to finish but this March 7 I am cold, tired of being cold and ready to sit in the sun like a reptile and warm up.