The Freelance Retort: Mad About March

Friday, March 2, 2012

Mad About March

March is here…finally.

Delayed by that Leap Day that interloper, Mr. 29.

Not that any of us can complain about February…at least this year. No, this year February was overly kind to us. Maybe making up for the last couple we’ve had to endure.

Makes you kind of wonder what the old girl has in store for us next year?

But that kind of wondering only leads to empty worries and people who look at you sideways when you walk your hamster down the street.

What...hamsters don't like to go out?

So on to March…the host of so many significant events.

March, notable for its ease of syllable singularity, after months of struggling with triple syllabic date keeping.

But that could just be me….

Only May and June share this particular trait; 2 months recognized for their own unique qualities of optimism and growth.

March…in like a Lion and out like a lamb…unless you don’t care for lamb and substitute chicken, which is allowed, but frowned upon..

March… progeny of Mars, the warrior god; the month of Aries, who begrudgingly shares it with fishy Pisces…for now.

The birth month of world revolvers, from Vinnie van Gogh to Johnny Bach to Justin Bieber.

I’ll let you guess who the Pisces is….

March is also known for many memorable events that shook and still shake the world, like NCAA March Madness, Johnny Appleseed Day, The Iditarod, the discovery of Uranus, Pi Day, Toast Day, The Ides, Paper Money…even Al Gore, without whom none of this would be possible.

Then of course there’s the big daddy of all March hoopla…St. Patrick’s Day.

The day when everyone is Irish and it’s everyone’s responsibility to dig out all their garish green sweaters and ties, view and or March in a parade, drink to excess, and urinate on a public building…in public…singing, “It’s a great day for the Irish!”

Yes, I’m sure the Irish are very proud to have you all on board….

March brings us the end of cozy evenings, spent in front of the fire, nursing the early dark. Come March 11, less than 10 days from now, Daylight Savings time begins spurring us out into the early evening air; no longer content to read a book or train the dog to answer the phone.

Soon, if we can get the dog to stop texting, we’ll emerge from our winter caves and shout, “There’s light out there! Real sunlight, spilling from the sky!”

Then we’ll politely wave to our neighbors who have come to view us with suspicion, through the years, for our odd habits

Spring follows shortly after that on March 20, 2012, at 1:14 A.M. (EDT) and soon we’re off to the big hardware store to buy dirt.

March…a good month. A strong month. A fickle month.

The grass is getting greener, buds bulging on the trees. Basketballs are bouncing, baseballs are flying, accountants everywhere rushing through piles of tax returns.

March…it’s here.

Now let’s just hope we don’t get a 14 inch snowstorm and screw this whole thing up for me.