My Dad always used to say that once February arrived, Spring was just around the corner. Didn’t matter whether the temps were around zero and the snow banks piled high all around you – Spring was almost here. I’m thinking he said that as much to cheer himself up as he did for those around him. Unfortunately for him (not to mention my Goodboys friends who were just easing into “Winter, Great American Southwest style” during this past weekend’s Las Vegas soiree), Spring’s arrival is gonna have to wait a week or two, as the Northeast is about to get socked with a nor’easter and a significant accumulation of ice and snow.

Good thing, then, that yesterday was “Truck Day” – a day celebrated by Red Sox fans all over. What is it, you ask? Truck Day is the day when the Red Sox equipment truck, laden with anything and everything having to do with Spring Training, begins its trek southward to the Sox’ Grapefruit League facility in Fort Myers. Pitchers and catchers have already begun arriving in force, and it won’t be long before workouts lead to the first exhibition games of the year.

Pretty soon, before you know it, the Boston television stations will all have their sports segments led by reporters dressed in polo shirts, looking tanned and doing their sports reports on green baseball diamonds, greenery and palms providing a much-welcomed backdrop for viewers house-bound by the frigid weather and wintery conditions. And by doing so, maybe Spring won’t seem that far away after all.

Truck Day – ’tis a wonderful thing!