“It was one of those March days when the sun shines hot and the wind blows cold; when it is summer in the light, and winter in the shade.” Charles Dickens Great Expectations.
March: Ides of March, Mad as a March Hare, and March Madness, . The great Portuguese composer, John Phillip Sousa loved the month and name so much he invented a genre of music to honor it. March comes in like a lion, and leaves like a lamb. An early ode to March and springtime was written many many years ago by noted CBA icon and the locally beloved Bard of Sonora, R.D. Cornish :
“Spring has sprung, the grass is riz, but I wonder where the robins iz.” circa 1960.
Chilled winds lead us into March soon to be tempered with wisps of warmth that will recede what spring and summer will bring. The last vestiges of winter are clinging onto the March air, lurking in the shadows waiting to bring some badly needed rain or to shock us with a dip in the temperature that will send us running for our warm overcoats and search for a cozy warm spot near a friendly fireplace,
I love March for the above reasons and more. March is Renaissance personified,. Hope does spring eternal . Our pale white wintry skins are shed and we prepare for the grand entrance of Mr. Sun and his rays. March is the beginning of new life. You can see the change in the trees, flowers and all those elements that provide color and beauty. Billowing clouds colored in a whiteness supreme are superimposed against a dappled sky of ocean blue waters.. Nature’s rainbow of colors and smells are ready for her annual appearance.
There is much to savor and enjoy in March. Approaching the age on 72 just greeting each new morning is a day well spent. I feel fortunate for my life and not only do I savor March and the other grand eleven months but I give thanks every time I turn off the bed stand lamp pull the covers over me and realize that life can be good.
A short column today because I urge you all to go outside, take a deep breath, open your eyes, slowly exhale, spin around ever so slowly and take a long look at your world. It is yours to feel,sense,romanticize, intellectualize and or philosophize.
This just in. I just received a celestial e-mail from the late great Hall of Fame New York and San Francisco Giants announcers, Russ Hodges and Lon Simmons. They chided me for not remembering that March also brings us Spring Training in all its glorious aches, and pains, optimism, and a chance for the World Series.
I confess that after the Houston Asterisks scandal and the digitalizing of baseball a bit of my passion for baseball has sadly begun slip sliding away.
There is a foul aroma that permeates the grassy grounds where the Boys off Summer play and I don’t know what will eradicate it.
Stealing signs has always been a part of baseball but you don’t cross the line and begin using electronic technology to help your cause.Once the line has been crossed all bets are off. What makes this worse is the overall new direction baseball is taking.
Everything is numbers, ratios, and astrological signs. I am not suggesting we bring back wool uniforms or we ban batting gloves. We could limit the time batters use to adjust their gloves while in the batters box to under five minutes and insist the pitcher throw a pitch at least every three minutes. Let’s bring back the way the game should be played.
And since you area all wondering how will the S F Giants do this year:
71-91. Third or fourth place.
To close ,a beautiful poem by Ms. Emily Dickinson
“Dear March, come in / How glad I am
I hoped for you before/Put down your hat
You must have walked/ How out of breath you are/
Dear March, how are you and the Rest
Did you leave nature well/ Oh March come upstairs with me
I have so much to tell
……..Emily Dickinson
Until April 3,2020:
Read a book, hug a child,pet a dog, stroke a cat, eat a bar of chocolate
and IKIRU.