Sun on the Line

This time it's official. It's spring. The sun lined up with the Equator this morning at around 1:30 local time.

I've often wondered what it was that makes the weathermen say "Spring began at 5:15 am."
Now I know, thanks to the wonder of the Internet. Spring begins when the sun balances itself over the Equator.

This concept sends my imagination off in a couple of different directions.

One: Jimmy Dean commercial. I mean, can't you all just see that man in a golden ball doing a high wire act, eating a sausage croissant or something? With every teetering step he takes -- or maybe a little jouncy-bounce -- big old flowers wearing people faces look up at him and "Oooooh!" Or maybe just uncurl and stretch, stretch, stretch. And Mr Sun hands them out sandwiches so they can start their time off right.

Two: The definition of the Equator is an imaginary line around the earth. At least. that's the definition in the article I read. Doesn't mention anything about the imaginary line being there to divide north from south, or to measure the fattest part of the globe, or anything like that. Just that it's an imaginary line around the earth.

Think what we could do with that! An imaginary arbitrary line someone drew around the earth. Think of the possibilities! For instance, if we've had a really bad winter and want to be done with it, we can drop that imaginary line a few degrees south. Then we can announce that it's an early spring! Never mind that Buffalo is still buried, Detroit is digging out, and all that. It will be Spring, because the sun (on his Balance Beam, mebbe?) has lined up with the repositioned Equator.
It will be Spring.

In reality, this year the weather is midsummer. The winter nearly wasn't.
Suns and Equators have had little to do with either, but anything that can present such charming scenarios to my idle mind can't be all bad, and are worth sharing!

Happy Spring, for those of us in the North. Happy Autumn to those in the South. For this day, we will all enjoy the same Day.

Maybe that's the most wonderful part of the day.