February and March made me shiver. I’m not as spry as I used to be. My mobility is limited these days. And all that ice, snow, and frigid air didn’t help matters either. I couldn’t leave the house.

Now, lemme tell ya... I can’t stand being stuck at home. I’ve never been sentenced to prison, but I imagine that home confinement is kinda like being incarcerated.

Here’s the thing: I absolutely love being at work. I love what I do. And I love the people I work with. And when I’m not working, I love being outside, breathing in the fresh air, and feeling the sunshine on my face.

That’s what I love about spring. It’s a fresh start. A chance to get back outside and get rolling again. And that’s good, because as the old saying goes, moss grows fat on a rolling stone.

Speaking of rolling, Patricia and I can’t wait to go cruisin’ in our Thunderbird. We’ll take the top off, let the wind blow through our hair, crank up the radio, and listen to that girl who sang the blues.

What really stirs my soul this time of year is watching the world around us spring back to life. Buds bloom, the grass turns a brilliant shade of green, and those Easter Lilies wave at us as we pass by.

In the spring, the children scream, the lovers cry and the poets dream. Now, if you’re thinkin’ that sounds familiar, you’d be right. I’ve been borrowing a few lines from Don McLean’s American Pie.

By the way, did you know there’s a deleted verse from that song? It didn’t make the final cut, but it sure reminds me of spring. It goes...

And there I stood alone and afraid

I dropped to my knees and there I prayed

And I promised Him everything I could give

If only He would make the music live

And He promised it would live once more

But this time one would equal four

And in five years four had come to mourn

And the music was reborn

Some music scholars think he was talkin’ about the Beatles. But it reminds me of Easter.

Christ, too, was reborn. God sent His only son to pay a price I could never repay. For that, I am forever grateful.

Happy Easter, my friends. The stone has been rolled away.

Francis Pass

P.S. – American Pie ranked number 5 on the Top 365 Songs of the 20th Century. It was edged out by “Respect,” “This Land Is Your Land,” “White Christmas,” and, coming in at number one, “Somewhere Over the Rainbow." That’s some pretty good company.