AD 33? PAAS? Pigs?

It's Good Friday and I want to say this much about the mythical Easter Bunny. Like many people, I still challenge the notion that it has to be a rabbit. Like most people, I dig rabbits, hares, cottontails named Peter, jackrabbits, Bugs Bunny...

And I know that there is a great deal of folklore around the idea of these creatures laying eggs and delivering them (in assorted colors - thank you, PAAS and thank you, vinegar) to little kids. Or the rabbit (or parent or weird uncle) would hide them so the children could play 'hide-n-seek' with the eggs with baskets around their arms...

Speaking of baskets, how is it that the translucent green "grass" that the local five and dimes push always ends up in the strangest places in any given household? And it magically appears throughout the whole year? It shows up everywhere... In the closet no one is allowed to open. The attic. Behind the washing machine. Sock drawer. Under the bed. And...

ANYWAY.

Some eggs even contain candy, pocket change, a single Washington, or in some neighborhoods, a crisp $20 bill. Was this Peter Cottontail's idea? Maybe. Probably has nothing to do with Christianity and the purpose behind it... I suppose it's sad that Easter can be watered down, too.

The hunt was always fun and I remember enjoying everything about collecting little prizes in my backyard or at the closest park where people celebrated Easter by eating massive amounts of BBQ and watermelon. Some people even made a point to wear yellow to church. Anything in the pastel family would work because matching the dyed eggs was obviously important. I do recall wearing a Cincinnati Bengals t-shirt one year when I was in elementary school. Not entirely sure why, but I did like the new helmets. Then and only then did I like the helmets.

Moving on, this is my take on the Easter Bunny. I was never sold on him (or her - because she laid eggs) and I always asked why it had to be a rabbit. No one could ever tell me why. Not a single adult came to the plate.

So I pleaded with the ones who would listen to me and I asked this very important question: "Why can't it be a Fat Easter Pig? His name can be 'Paul.' That's from the bible!" I was a little dude and I wanted answers... People couldn't even tell me that having an Easter pig was out of the question. And I never bought into their Santa Claus reasoning... That's something different, at least, for me. Like St. Nick can be replaced... Never. No go.

I still campaign for Paul, the Fat Easter Pig. Looking back, he doesn't even need to have a first name. He just needs to wear comfortable boots. Lots of yards to visit, y'know...

Time's up. Gotta run.

Cheers. Happy Easter to you. To everyone...

bsm*