Sharon Randall: If you want to see spring, don't look for it

May 13, 2013

Rabbi Nathan Lopes Cardozo: Why the giving of the document that would permanently change the world could only be done in desolation

David G. Savage: Church-state, literally? Supreme Court weighing public school graduation in a church

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Peter Teffer: Will Dutch police soon be stalking cybercriminals on your computer?

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May 10, 2013

Rabbi Berel Wein: Be all that you should be

Caroline B. Glick: The dirty little secret about Israel's Arabs

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Sandi Doughton: Eyes may provide new insight into brain problems

Jewz in the Newz by Nate Bloom : The Great Gatsby's Jewish Ties; Jews in the "Time 100 list" List; People's Most Beautiful Women

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May 8, 2013

Peter Ford: Why China is welcoming both Israel's Netanyahu and Palestinians' Abbas

Warren Richey: Obama administration quietly backs out of appeal over new contraceptive mandate

Fred Weir: At Kerry-Putin meeting, US-Russia relations thaw --- a tad

Amanda Paulson: Study reveals sad truths about community colleges

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Harvard Health Letters: Evidence weak that zinc, echinacea are beneficial

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May 6, 2013

Edmund Sanders and Patrick J. McDonnell: Think Israel's objective in Syria is to weaken Assad or embolden the rebels? Think again

Brian Bennett: Israeli airstrikes may show weakness in Syrian defense

Michael Ollove: Millions of ex-felons, parolees and those on probation are about to be entitled to tax-payer paid health coverage

Karen Kaplan: Most men can skip PSA test for prostate cancer, urologists say

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The Kosher Gourmet by Susan M. Selasky: EGGPLANT WRAPS are an easy, sumptuous and scrumptious meal

May 3, 2013

Rabbi Nathan Lopes Cardozo: Human Courage and the Unavoidable, Disturbing Text

Steven Emerson: Attorney General Fights CAIR in Court, Lauds it in Public

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Harvard Health Letters: When to be screened for a hearing problem

Jewz in the Newz by Nate Bloom : Iron Man's Jewish Connections; Marc Maron's New TV Show; Martin Landau Grows Up with Israel; Shalom, Allan Arbus

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May 1, 2013

Jonathan Rosenblum: An Improbable Journey to Orthodoxy

Jonathan Tobin: Blame Obama, Not Israel for Syria Push

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April 29, 2013

Roy Gutman: Poland's new Jewish museum celebrates life, doesn't revisit Holocaust

Mark Clayton: Terrorism in America: Is US missing a chance to learn from failed plots?

Kim Murphy: Boston Bomber's 'Svengali' Revealed

Morgan Housel: He's rich, smart and old: Listen to him

Thomas Salinas, D.D.S.: Mayo Clinic Medical Edge: The safety of amalgam fillings

Harvard Health Letters: Tomatoes and stroke protection

Pete Spotts: Tiny satellites + cellphones = cheaper 'eyes in the sky' for NASA

The Kosher Gourmet by Diane Rossen Worthington: Swing into spring with lemon cream pie

April 26, 2013

Rabbi Abraham J. Twerski: The world is a mirror

Caroline B. Glick: Time to confront Obama

Clifford D. May: Defense in the Age of Jihadist Terrorism

Kimberly Lankford: New strategies ease pain of paying for long-term care insurance

Howard LeWine, M.D.: Ask the Harvard Experts: Too much ibuprofen?

Sharon Palmer, R.D.: How to feel your best -- with plenty of energy, a healthy weight and optimal mental and physical function -- without driving yourself batty

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The Kosher Gourmet by Emily Ho : A bright and cheerful salad to herald the warmer months ahead

April 24, 2013

Steven Emerson: Boston Bomber Exposes Islamist Secret

Top Muslim cleric boycotts inter-faith dialogue conference attended by 'Jews'

Morgan Housel Admit it: No one has any idea what's going on

Harvard Health Letters: Can you get headaches from headache medication?

Kerri-Ann Jennings, M.S., R.D.: How to easily get more Omega-3s in your diet

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The Kosher Gourmet by Susan Russo: Chipotle Chili Butternut Squash Soup is bold, zesty, hot

April 22, 2013

Ken Dilanian: Counterterrorism's future is unclear

Hagel, on maiden Middle East visit, arrives in Israel bearing gifts and promises

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April 19, 2013

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Harvard Health Letters: Can you die of a broken heart?

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April 17, 2013

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Morgan Housel: BAD NEWS: EVERYONE IS RIGHT!

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The Kosher Gourmet by Diane Rossen Worthington: Corn and Curry Add Zing to Chilled Soup

April 15, 2013

Rabbi Yonason Goldson: The Death of Education?

Kristen Chick: Egyptian Christians respond with harsh words to attack -- rocks, Molotov cocktails, and gunfire -- against main cathedral

Marcy Darnovsky and Karuna Jaggar: High Court to decide if you should own your DNA

Howard LaFranchi: US bracing for more Russian blowback after taking action against 18 more human rights violators

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The Kosher Gourmet by Dana Velden: A tasty, rich dish that hints at spring's arrival while still anchored in a favorite winter staple

Jewish World Review March 19, 2013/ 8 Nissan, 5773

If you want to see spring, don't look for it

By Sharon Randall

http://www.JewishWorldReview.com | Things are not always what they seem. I know this.

I've known it all my life, ever since that cold December night when I was 5, and noticed that the man who came pounding on my grandmother's door in a tacky red suit with a fake white beard, proclaiming himself to be Santa, bore an odd resemblance to my Uncle Harry.

Moreover, I noted after a quick look over his shoulder, that he was driving, not a sleigh, but a brand-new Buick, and in the company of my Aunt Iris, better known as "Weedie," who was not the sort of woman you'd ever expect to see hanging on Santa's arm.

That was my first "things are not always what they seem" experience. There have been countless others over the years. Here is my most recent.

Monday morning, soon after my husband left for work, I was knocking back a much-needed second cup of coffee when I looked out the window and saw to my surprise a man I did not know, talking on his cellphone while standing fully clothed in, yes, the deep end of our swimming pool.

I shouldn't say he was fully clothed. I assumed as much -- at least, I certainly hoped so -- but all I could honestly see above the rim of the pool was the top of his head covered with a baseball cap and the cellphone that was glued to his ear.

I took a swig of coffee, rubbed my eyes, tried my best to focus and ventured another look.

Still there. OK, stay calm, I told myself, assess the situation.

He did not appear to be in (a) immediate danger; (b) major discomfort or (c) any rush at all to get out of the pool.

What was I supposed to do? Should I offer him breakfast? A towel? A robe?

Finally, the coffee kicked in and I remembered. The pool had been drained two days ago for cleaning and repairs. He was there to acid-wash its walls.

I told you that story (against my better judgment and I will probably regret having done so) to tell you this: I am no fan of daylight saving time.

Those of us who are not morning people -- and we all know who we are -- should not be expected to wake up an hour earlier than usual and pretend everything is fine and dandy.

Everything is not fine and dandy. How can it possibly be fine and dandy if you can look out your window and see a perfectly nice man cleaning your pool and think to yourself -- if only for a few frantic moments -- that he's a lunatic about to join you for breakfast?

For me, there are only two good things about daylight saving time. First, you get that extra hour of sunlight at the end of the day, which is always a pleasure, unless you have to drag kids inside to do their homework and eat dinner and go to bed in broad daylight.

Second, and more important, it means that spring is finally, blessedly, blissfully, thankfully, almost here. I can't wait.

This winter, for some reason, has seemed unusually long and cold and dark. If it wasn't in fact, it certainly was in feeling.

I'm over it. I was over it by New Year's. I'm ready for balmy days, lingering sunsets, baby birds, bare feet, baseball ...

My granddad used to say that spring is God's way of making everything new again.

I remembered that the spring after he died and in all the springs that have followed. Still, after all these years, it's a memory that makes me smile, one I never want to forget.

Each year I look for signs of spring -- budding trees, nesting birds, wildflowers blooming in the desert. Sometimes the signs seem far away. But things are not always what they seem.

If you want to see spring, don't look for it. Close your eyes, be still and listen. The surest sign of it can't be seen. It is heard and felt in the quickening beat of a heart becoming new.

Every weekday JewishWorldReview.com publishes what many in in the media and Washington consider "must-reading". Sign up for the daily JWR update. It's free. Just click here.

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Previously:

• Other People's Stuff

• Imprinted geography: Home is wherever the mountain is

• Long-overdue thank-yous

• My sister's big news

• Finding peace wherever I can; at the moment and in memory

• I wish someone had told me this before it took years off my life

• The best part of being a grandparent

• Feasting on scraps: The reality behind a life habit

• The only tradition to keep absolutely

• The class hears from the teacher's mom