A Dusting

When it comes to weather, I have often heard a forecast that called for a dusting of snow that was followed by several inches of snow. While living in Iowa I soon learned that if the weatherman predicted an inch or less I had better break out the snow shovel and get ready for a full day of shoveling. My favorite was when the prediction of party cloudy turned into a blizzard.

But living in Memphis in the spring calls for a different type of dusting. Ah, spring, when everyone’s car turns yellow with the annual dusting of pollen. My car is dusted with pollen; my outdoor furniture is dusted with pollen; I am dusted with pollen. The pollen dusting seems to have much less effect on my car and furniture than it does on me. I am thinking of renaming Memphis “Sneeze City.”

Looking beyond the plague of pollen, spring time in Memphis is absolutely beautiful – all five days of it. Having grown up in Kentucky and lived most of my adult life in the upper Midwest, I am used to a spring that starts in early April and ends around the middle of June. Spring is when the days get longer; there is a nice mix of sunshine and rain; a myriad of shades of green pops out all over and flowers dot the landscape with amazing colors. Slowly the days get warmer and the nights only call for a light jacket. It is a great time to gather around a fire in the evenings and tell stories and “cook” hotdogs and s’mores. Life is good.

In Memphis spring is amazingly beautiful but it roars through town like a runaway freight train. One can almost hear it coming. All of your senses start shouting, “Spring is almost here.” All of the sights, sounds and smells combine to herald the coming season. After a cold, dreary, achingly depressing winter, all are looking forward to the change of seasons. Yah, spring! And then spring arrives almost overnight. We are thrilled. Break out the lawn furniture, the grill, the hammock, the Frisbee. Let the fun begin. And then it’s gone.

Here in the mid-south, by the time you are sure spring is here, it is gone. Seriously, it lasts about five days. Within days we are again holed up in the house with the air conditioner running looking out the window at the yard growing grass like a precious commodity and the air so thick with humidity one can see it.

Spring is like that gorgeous girl you couldn’t wait to meet who ends up having a horrid personality. It sounded like a good idea.

Oh, well, summer. I like summer. Not as much as spring; but it beats the snot out of winter.

Copyright ©, 2014, William T. McConnell, All Rights Reserved