Jewish World Review April 4, 2005/ 24 Adar II, 5765

Greg Crosby

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Spring

http://www.NewsAndOpinion.com | Spring used to signal the return of baseball with the start of spring training. This year, it is Congressional hearings concerning ball players' use of steroids (read: cheating).

Spring used to signal a rebirth. This year it has brought death to a young brain-damaged woman thanks to a judge who ordered her to die by starvation and thirst.

Spring used to be a time for young love to blossom. This year we've seen hate blossom within the deranged mind of a teenage Indian boy who went on a killing spree at his high school, the rape and killing of a young girl by a known sex offender who never should have been allowed back on the streets, and the incessantly ongoing child molestation trial of Michael Jackson.

The ugly realities of today's headlines spoil the beauty of springtime. It's so easy to allow ourselves to be depressed over recent events and forget the eternal hope that spring represents. Every now and then we need to "accentuate the positive and eliminate the negative" as the old Johnny Mercer song says, in order to keep our equilibrium and preserve our sanity.

Spring has always been the favorite season of the poets and thinkers. Here are a few examples:

"An optimist is the human personification of spring." Susan J. Bissonette

"Winter is on my head, but eternal spring is in my heart." Victor Hugo

"Spring is when you feel like whistling, even with a shoe full of slush." Doug Larson.

"Treat spring just as you would a friend you have not learned to trust." Ed Howe

"April is the month when the green returns to the lawn, the trees, and Internal Revenue Service."

"Spring comes unusually late or unusually early every year - as usual."

Spring is a time when a young man's fancy turns to thoughts of love. Spring is also a time for allergies. I don't think one has anything to do with the other.

There have been more songs written about spring than any other season of the year with the exception of Christmas.

Spring break is that happy, carefree time when students go off to a resort and drink, play loud music and break stuff. It's a happy carefree time for the students but not for anyone else.

According to Answers.com, springtime is described as the following: "The season of the year during which the weather becomes warmer and plants revive." Pretty straight forward, huh?

Translations for: Springtime:

Nederlands (Dutch) — lente

Français (French) — printemps

Deutsch (German) — n. - Frühling

Italiano (Italian) — primavera Português (Portuguese) — n. - período da primavera (m)

Español (Spanish) — n. - primavera

Svenska (Swedish) — n. - vårtid

No matter what language you speak, spring is still spring. You can call it anything. Call it loganberry, call it triangulation, call it winter, call it a cab, call it late for dinner, it doesn't matter. So the moral to this entire column is, enjoy spring while it's here because soon it will be gone and then where will you be? Smack dap in the middle of summer, that's where! Now go out there and spring yourself silly!

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JWR contributor Greg Crosby, former creative head for Walt Disney publications, has written thousands of comics, hundreds of children's books, dozens of essays, and a letter to his congressman. A freelance writer in Southern California, you may contact him by clicking here.

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© 2005 Greg Crosby