"It Will Be Good To Be Back"
By Capt. Fred Davis
Published: Saturday, April 11, 2015

Spring is in the air. And then it snows.

What a great time of year. People in states south, long gone during winter months, are packing up. They will soon be loading their vans, trailers or motor homes and heading home.

Interstate roads and turnpikes are bumper to bumper, cars headed north for the summer and cars headed south to find out if the snowbirds left any fish in the seas.

Calls made to friends up north have revealed that the massive amounts of snow that fell during winter months has about melted. Ice-covered roads are a thing of the past and most areas are reporting blue water instead of white icebergs. There is some green here and there and a few flowers poking out. Sure signs it really is spring.

This time of year, smiles replace the sober faces on those southern friends anxious to leave the heat. After all, being away from your home town all winter is always bittersweet. You’re happy to miss out on the shoveling, skidding and power outages but you miss your neighbors and friends.

Traffic in the southeast or southwest is horrendous during the winter season. As people begin to leave, the backups diminish and shopping becomes less congested. The women head to the clothing stores before leaving to look for summer outfits on sale at reduced prices because demand lessens.

Easter was enjoyed by many grandparents who had visits from the youngsters on spring break. Some families stopped at Disney (if they could afford it) and others in our area visited Monkey Jungle or dolphin shows. When the holiday travel is over and they return home, the kids will finish the last few weeks of school before summer vacation.

Older kids will be looking for summer jobs. Some will add a summer class or two to accelerate their search for a degree. Working can come later after college studies are completed. Other teens are hoping to earn enough with a summer job to buy their first car. Stand by Dad, they will need a little help with that. These kids need to remember to enroll in driver’s education to qualify for a license to drive that car.

As I see it, most teenagers in rural areas have been driving long before it’s official. So they think they have a lock on it. Once they are at the wheel of a car, they may have paid for, obeying traffic laws and keeping it in good shape might be very important to them.

When parents return from their trips south it will be time for them to begin the cleanup of debris winter left behind. Grass, if it survived, will need nourishing, flowers planted, trees trimmed. Maybe a little paint on the outside trim of the house. The neighbors will appreciate any efforts made.

As for me, if temperatures can climb up to the 60s and stay there a while, I will begin packing up. See you soon. And by the way, if my yard looks too bad, go ahead and start the cleanup without me.

 

 

Return to Home Page of Tipsforboating.com

 

Copyright © Fred Davis. All rights reserved.