There must be something in the air besides the scant traces of pollen I've seen already. Everywhere you go, everybody's got a big smile on their face. I reckon with the last traces of snow gone, the sneak peek of spring weather has everybody doing the happy dance. I keep warning y'all not to get too excited cause we're gonna have more wintry weather, whether you believe me or not.

I guess a big reason a lot of people are so happy is they got a little something from Uncle Sam. Well ‘bah humbug!' is what I say to that ‘cause me and Uncle Sam ain't exactly kissing cousins.

Even driving down the road, I've noticed cars smiling back at me even though the driver's expression may have been totally opposite. I thought I was seeing things and I asked my husband if he'd noticed how the fronts of the newer cars seem to be sporting a smiley face. I sure was relieved to know I wasn't imagining things.

The lower part of the grill is shaped just like a smile. with big headlights for eyes that look like they're smiling, too. Now I just don't know about all this, but of course my daughter totally gets it and thinks it's cute. She even goes so far as to name our cars (and they claim I'm the family nutcase - the apple don't fall too far from the tree). Well of course I just had to ask how you determine the gender of your vehicle and of course she had a logical answer. According to her, a vehicle's temperament determines its gender. We had a Mercury Mountaineer that our daughter christened ‘Maggie.' We drove Maggie until nearly everything but the wheels fell off, but she was dependable, drove good and never let us down even as she aged and got some mileage on her. I cried when we got rid of her and made the guy who bought her promise to treat her with T.L.C. and I promised Maggie someday I would come back for her.

Our daughter purchased her first car last spring and she named it Olivia. I have no idea why she chose that name but it's her baby and she's as proud of that car as any of her treasured dolls she saved from just a few years ago. Bless her heart, she's becoming more and more like her mother every day, even though she'd never admit it.

A few weeks ago, a sporty little Mustang convertible wheeled into my driveway and I cocked one eyebrow and thought "Who in the world?" Then my cousin hopped out and came bee-bopping up to the front door grinning like a Cheshire cat. She said, "Do you like my new car?" I said, "Now wait a minute, cuz - it's too late for Christmas and your anniversary and too early for your birthday, so what gives?" She said, "My hubby paid off his truck and found a great deal on this car and since mine has a lot of miles on it and he knew I'd wanted a convertible, he got it for me."

I said, "Well let her top down and gimme the keys - let's see what she's got."

Cuz said, "I don't think so - I think you've been watching a little too much NASCAR."

My other cousin showed up at one of our reunions in her fancy little Jaguar. At first we thought whoever it was had made a wrong turn off the highway and got lost. Then I recalled the first time I'd seen it at Grandma's funeral. When the funeral directors lined the cars up for the drive to the grave services with the Jaguar behind the hearse, we all assumed Grandma was going out in style.

I know some people go to extremes in taking care of their cars and getting a car with all the bells and whistles. It simply amazes me what you can get in cars nowadays and some of these things are worth it - heated seats, GPS systems, OnStar, moon roofs, keyless entry key fobs, a DVD player to keep the little ones entertained.

In the not too distant future, I hope to have a ‘new' vehicle in my driveway but I need one with a name I can't pronounce, that cranks and takes off before I get to it; I don't want no flowerpot of daisies on my dashboard, satellite radio that I have to pay for or a bunch of buttons going off cause there's a wire loose somewhere. Four doors, good tires and a few good horses under the hood to get me from point A to point B is all I need and passengers who will abide by a few rules: Get in, buckle up and hold on. And don't even think about messing with the radio!