Spring in My Step

Welcome to Petey-ological Spring!

It's the morning of the change to Daylight Saving Time, so I figure many of you are grumpy over losing one tiny hour of sleep. If only you'd gone to bed, say, 60 minutes earlier. Wait . . . what a concept!

I imagine my dose of frivolity might open your eyes a bit more as you growl, grin then chuckle.

So what is Petey-ological Spring? Let me get to that shortly.

Well, we all know (though sometime loathe to admit, oddly) that the seasons are caused by the tilt of the Earth. If that tilt did not occur, the weather would not follow its expected change. Seasons, therefore, are astronomical.

And the weather takes time to catch up to the astronomical event; the arrival of spring this year is with the vernal equinox at 10:46 a.m. EDT March 20. Here's more detailed information, if you like; be aware this article uses Central Daylight Time. 

Petey-ological Spring is my invention and it comes on the heels of weathermen and weatherwoman chortling about the arrival of “meteorological spring.” They claim that starts March 1. Something about helping to keep records. Well, I'll be … 

But because these forecasters are seen widely across various media, the general public sometimes is misled into thinking, “Hey, spring is here!” Occasionally, the weather up north cooperates, well, briefly anyway … where in the records for meteorological spring does a major snowstorm on March 17, say, fit into the data?

My thinking is that I, too, can invent the date of the onset of a fictional season, hence Petey-ological Spring!

With the onset of Petey-ological Spring, I urge you to look for signs in the sky of the true change of seasons. For example: Is the Sun riding higher in the sky from your location? Does it rise and set farther north than it did around Christmas and the other holidays?

Look at night: the Big Dipper at this time of year, seen in the evening, appears to be turning upside down. Well, of course! It's dumping out the water from its bowl – that's why it rains so much in true spring!

Rest assured, this is an attempt at jocularity.

Although Petey-ological Spring has as much merit as any other similar term, and I kind of like it!

* * *

A few days ago, I wrote the following on my Facebook page. It was a memory from the Cuban Missile Crisis from Oct. 16-28 in 1962. Many consider it the closest the Cold War came to escalating into full-scale nuclear war. Perhaps until now.

What I wrote came on the heels of Donald Trump saying “Cuba's next” after the current war on Iran.

I just wanted to share the memory of a terrified youngster for those who may not have seen it:

“When I was a 9-year-old boy in Western Pennsylvania, I was so frightened during a test air raid alert that I hid in a neighbor's dog house. I was shivering, crying. I remember it vividly.”

The wooden doghouse lives clearly in my mind, even after all these decades. I actually picked it up, set it on end, then I climbed inside.

I continued:

“Other times, while riding in the car with my dad, we had to pull off the road when the sirens went off. There were signs on schools and municipal buildings showing the way to bomb shelters. We were taught to 'duck and cover' in the classroom.”

“And now I live in Florida. Much closer to Cuba and right across the bay from a huge U.S. air base. Seriously, enough is enough.”

* * *

I'd like to end this morning missive on a lighter note, much the way I started.

When I was preparing to retire in 2014 from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, I told this story, in jest, to an exceptional yet cunning multimedia editor: “If I ever had my own television show, this would be my theme song!”

He remembered. That wily editor used this music in my goodbye and retirement video. I'll never forget it! Feel free to skip the ads and enjoy the song. It's quite catchy!

And Happy Petey-ological Spring!