Boston emerges to relish warmth of a spring day
It comes every year but each time feels no less like a miracle, the day when the seemingly immovable canopy of gray gives way to opal skies and gentle breezes, transforming at least momentarily the collective misery into a sweet, universal serenity.
That is, of course, until the next snowstorm.
But yesterday, as the mercury passed 70 degrees in Boston for the first time since Oct. 27, there was a palpable joy that New England's brutal winter had finally passed. The city emerged from its hibernation.
Wool and Gortex were traded for spaghetti straps and tank tops. Flip-flops replaced boots. Fountains flowed, daffodils and magnolia trees bloomed, and a crew of workers began preparing the Frog Pond for its summer infusion of water.
To mark the occasion, Conor Savoy went sockless and donned a pink polo shirt, which he bought a few weeks ago when he felt the tide of winter start to recede.
He was happy just waiting for the MBTA Green Line on Commonwealth Avenue, a task that just a few weeks ago made him and countless others miserable.
"The sun makes it much easier," said Savoy, 25, a graduate student at Boston University.
Nearby, Casey Shafer sprawled across a patch of grass, barefoot in a tie dye T-shirt, watched through sunglasses the pitter-patter of a freshly started fountain.
She said she was so cold this winter - her first in Boston - that she spent several days in her apartment without leaving. "My teeth got so cold it hurt to talk; so I kept my mouth shut," said Shafer, another 25-year-old graduate student at Boston University.
"I can't tell you how nice it is to lay out and not think about anything."
All across the city, there was a similar desire to idle, to lounge, to do little more than appreciate the sun.
Sitting on a rock beside Jamaica Pond, Emin Turan, 43, of Chestnut Hill looked out over the lapping water. He held a fishing rod but wasn't concerned that he had yet to catch the trout he had been seeking for more than five hours.
"This is beautiful," he said.
Alyson Moher had the day off and decided to stroll along the beach in South Boston and watch the planes land at Logan International Airport. She took her shoes off and walked toward the water. "The sand's not hot like in the summer," said Moher, 21, of Norwood.
Then she waded ankle-deep into the harbor. "I don't think I'm ready for a swim," she said.
Nearby, a man was playing volleyball by himself and a woman stretched out in a red bikini. Donald Shields rested on the boardwalk, his shirt beneath his head. "It's a good day," said Shields, 68, who lives a few blocks away. "It's a good for your nerves."
In Downtown Crossing, some commuters in trench coats still needed convincing that spring had arrived. Not Henry James.
He was showing off his muscles in a tank top. "Well, if I build them, why not show them, right?" he said. "Why try to hide it?"
The warmth - the normal high temperature for the date was 54 degrees - translated into good business for everyone from street vendors to bike shops.
Outside Macy's in Downtown Crossing, George Watkins welcomed the increased foot traffic to his stand. "We're selling a little more," he said.
At Revolution Bicycle in Jamaica Plain, Ben Gurly, the owner, said he had twice as many customers than in previous weeks.
One customer, Elyse Conde, said she thought it was a good time for a spring tune-up. She was looking forward to biking more for pleasure than transportation.
"The hardest day this winter was riding one day and getting splashed by a big puddle of salt and slush," said Conde, 25, who bikes from her home in Brookline to her job at Angell Memorial Animal Hospital.
"I hope not to have any more of those days."
Unfortunately, with rain and temperatures in the 40s expected for the weekend, it might be a while before another day like yesterday occurs.
Diamond McMillion hopes the cold doesn't linger.
Her job is to get people to sign petitions to fight global warming. Stopping passersby on Coolidge Corner, she said the warmth made her job easier.
"People are much more pleasant," said McMillion, 22, of South Boston. "The sun really helps."
David Abel can be reached at dabel@globe.com.
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