Hoppy Easter!

Easter Bunny Wisdom




Don't Put all your eggs in one basket.
You can earn a lot of respect when you hop to it.
It pays to be all ears.
Hop softly and carry a big carrot.
Be flexible, people and Easter eggs come in all colors.
There's no such thing as too much chocolate.
An Easter bonnet can tame wild hare.
It's good to feel warm and fuzzy.
Smiles can multiply like rabbits
Anonymous good deeds are delightful.
It's OK to come out of your shell and show your true colors.
Keep your paws off the little chicks.
The grass is greener in someone else's basket.
We all have a  bad hare day now and then.
Some body parts are just floppy.
All work and no play can make you a basket case.
A fluffy round tail is a cute asset. 
Don't count your chickens before they hatch.

Bunny Tail...


One Easter when I was living aboard my sailboat in the Virgin Islands, I was anchored in a harbor that had a lot of folks living aboard full-time so I knew most all of them.  While I normally was gone for all the holidays, working on large yachts, this year I was home for a few days or weeks, I forget which, as my schedule was always terribly erratic. 


My mother was alive but living far away. When I came home to pick up my mail which had been accumulating in my absence, there was a box from my mother for Easter and my birthday, which were the same day or close to it that year. When I opened the box, it had tiny wrapped gifts and candy which were carefully cushioned  with fluffy green Easter basket grass. I cried, because I missed her so much and this box of surprises was an extremely thoughtful gesture. 


While ashore, I was feeling foolish and whimsical when I saw a store had these tiny little baskets on sale super cheap. 


They were only big enough to hold one or two eggs. 


For some crazy reason, I bought a bunch of baskets and eggs, then went home to my boat to boil and dye the eggs. 


I used some of  the Easter grass my mother had sent me, to fill each little basket.  Then I put a brightly colored egg in the basket, two if it was for a couple. 


About an hour before sunrise, I quietly climbed into my little dinghy, loading it up with my miniature Easter Baskets. I didn't start the engine, instead using my oars, to propel myself around the harbor as I gingerly set a tiny basket in the cockpit of my various neighbors who were soundly sleeping (all except one boat where the couple was engaged in noisy wrestling or something, but they were making so much noise, they never heard me paddle up to the side of their boat.)


When all was done, I silently rowed back to my boat, going back to bed. 
The boaters were famous for going ashore to a certain bar and restaurant for coffee (or rum) in the mornings. They all sat at what we called "table one" because it was reserved for the boaters who came and went all day, sharing the big round table with others, while they ate or drank. I made many new friends at that table. 


So the next morning, I happened to pass by table one around mid-morning. It sat in a garden, which bordered a public park, so you could cruise by the park and see who was currently sitting at table one. I pulled up a chair after self-serving my coffee, which was customary, as the boaters often self-served so the busy waitress could keep up with the tourist crowds at the other tables. 


In the center of the table, was one of my Easter baskets with an egg in it, brought in by a boater who didn't eat eggs. The bright pink egg against the green grass looked rather festive and had become the impromptu centerpiece along with the salt, pepper, ketchup and hot sauce.  


The conversation was enthusiastically centered around the anonymous Easter Bunny that left these curious gifts in the cockpits of the boaters. Someone asked me if I was the Easter Bunny.  I kept a straight face, claiming to have received my own Easter basket and openly pondered with them, who could have done this strange deed. 


As far as I know, no one ever found out it was me, but it was great fun listening to folks tell about how surprised  they were to find a little Easter basket, in their boat.