I was driving my car last week, and I found myself singing "Let the sun shine, Let the sunshine in." That's because here in the Northeast, spring has finally embraced us. How does one actually know when spring arrives? You could point to spring by a specific point in our elliptical orbit around the sun, but who needs science class. Some folks just stare patiently at frozen bird feeders for a glimpse of the season's first Robin. And of course, there is Punxsutawney Phil's predication of when spring will arrive. I have my own method of determining the arrival of spring. My method is not nearly as recognized as Phil's, but it is dead on balls accurate. Spring officially arrives with the emergence of classic cars from their winter-garaged hibernation.

The first Saturday you spot vintage cars either at the auto parts, car washes or driving down Main Street is the undisputed start of the spring season. In past columns, we have catalogued our experiences with driving old cars during the winter, so we won't beat a dead mastodon. However, all winter long I have been daily driving my car around town and all of a sudden, with the arrival of spring, folks notice. Drive up to the same watering hole you've been haunting for months and the bartender who knows you by name says, "You just get that car?" No, there's an oil spot out there with my name on it. I try to keep my old car as clean as possible during the arctic season, so it's not as though my car had been camouflaged with salt residue. I guess spring rips the blinders off of folks; they are no longer running for their lives between one area of warmth to another.

While driving my car during the long Siberian season, I only encountered the same three or four vintage cars out in it. We would beep or signal to each other as long as the ice on our windshields did not prevent eye contact. Now that it is spring, it seems you can't toss a "dog dish" hubcap without hitting a classic car. I know, I know, practical wisdom dictates that the fact that winter kills these cars, one should tuck them away all cozy and warm. I do not want to sound bitter here, so I will say; if you bought it and maintain it, then show it off whenever you like, man. But, the reason we created My Daily Driver.com is that we DRIVE these damn cars.

I love the fact that with spring, everyone with a vintage car wants to come out and play. I love the fact that with spring, a passerby a can share their classic car story with me while I sit comfortably on my hood. I love the fact that with spring, the Scrub-a-Dub is no longer covered with a glacial coating. There are a lot of things to love about spring. Yeah, it's always the little things, isn't it?

Prior to this tirade, I mentioned driving along and singing, "Let the sun shine, Let the sunshine in." Well, as the radiation heating from the sun travels 93 million miles only to heat my black interior, I am content. This is the first time I have been able to retract all four windows without massive supplemental warmth from the heater core. Since my car does not have "posts", the lines created with the windows down looks great. You know what I mean.

So in retrospect, I suppose that driving my car all winter, they are of course getting longer, may have tainted my point of view. In this commonwealth, spring has only just arrived, so perhaps I need a bit of decompression. It won't be long until I am driving along in 95 degree summer swelter and fearing complete cooling system failure. For now, I will beep and wave at every classic, vintage or just plain old car and hope for a return recognition. "Let the sun shine, Let the sunshine in."