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By Russell Hessler
This is the tale of a young lad named Willie. His parents are named Wilfred and Willameena. His sister is named Wanda. His best friend is named Wilbur. His favorite teacher’s name is Mr. Wilbert Wilburton. And his pet dog’s name is Woof-Woof.
Willie is normally a well-behaved young man during most of the year. However, every spring he becomes quite rambunctious. He skips classes, and sometimes, whole days of school. During these times, and times he should be home with his family, he wanders-off into the woods which are not too far from where he lives. In the woods he searches for shamrocks, which he collects and keeps until the following spring—then he replaces the previous years with new ones. He also looks for dead tree branches—which he makes into shillelaghs and keeps them for a year. Once he’s done with the previous year’s shillelaghs, he donates them to his school’s charity drive. But, that isn’t all the antics that Willie does. He also leaps, skips, dances, and frolics through the neighboring fields. He always has his faithful pet dog joining him by his side. Sometimes, he even persuades his best friend, Wilbur, to accompany him. However, that is usually short-lived, since Wilbur’s parents aren’t as understanding as Willie’s are.
When asked by the local town and school officials as to the reason for their son’s annual unusual behavior, Willie’s parent’s reply is that he looks forward to this time of year so he can celebrate “starting fresh and starting over” with “new life”; especially if had been a really cold and harsh previous winter. That is what spring is all about—starting afresh and anew. New life and new beginnings and rebirth. SPRING! Maybe we should take a lesson from Willie! Amen!

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