April showers bring… good times. The temperature broke 70ºF and things started getting crazy. Now, an interesting thing about living here in Wisconsin for a second round of summer is being able to witness the palpable anticipation that comes when the snow finally melts away. Some people around here legitimately “lose their sh*t.” And who can blame them? Winter in the upper Midwest is horrible for so many reasons, and to know that the opposite of what ails you is just around the corner, well… it can get a little crazy. So… let’s take a look at the ‘signs of spring.’

Baseball! Oh yes, it’s back. Something about when baseball starts up, you know winter is over… and when the Red Sox beat the Yankees in the League home opener… man, what a way to fire it up. They promptly began to lose and drop to nearly the bottom of the America League East, Papi began to suck immediately, and the top three pitchers for the year (Lackey, Beckett, and Lester) all gained ERAs over 5… but hey, it’s Baseball season! Live baseball is also fun, and so I made sure to get over to opening week for the Brewers, as they handled the Rockies easily for their second game of the season. Ellen, Pete, Krista and I got some great seats on the 2nd deck behind homeplate. In the first inning, I was talking with Pete and a foul ball landed only a few feet away from us… looking around, we then realized we were a) above the protective net, and b) in prime foul ball territory. We didn’t go home with an souvenirs, but it definitely made us pay a little more attention to the game. Brewers win… 7 to 5.

What else starts in the spring? Wedding season. The first of which was my cousin Brad’s. He lives in LA, and the wedding was up near Sacramento; California or bust. I had never been to Sacramento, and if you want to go visit, I’d recommend against it. I’ve been around the world a couple of times, and Sacramento (especially downtown near the capital building), is a rundown town. “Oh, but how bad can it really be, it’s the capital of California?!” … well, how about a murder crime scene a block away from the capital building… you know, no biggie, just a little homicide… pretty typical. Either way, it’s got its nice suburbs, but I can’t say much else for it. The good times were had with the entire family coming out to see the nuptials. Kiera, the newest member of my extended family, is incredible… and fits in well with the clan. Beyond the wedding, the family was able to get out and see all of what Sacramento has to offer… here’s a picture of us in front of Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger’s office. I don’t think that will ever sound right. (You may notice a stuffed monkey in these pictures… you’re not seeing things… it was the mascot of the trip, which actually continued for the rest of the week in Wine country for my parents, Kristen, and Keith… I, headed back to Madison for work).

10 years ago, I joined a fraternity known as Tau Epsilon Phi at Clarkson University… and when you start hitting milestones such as this… you get the band back together. The ‘F2K10 Reunion Tour’ hit Pensacola Beach, Florida for one weekend only… mainly due to work schedules, lack of funds, and older bodies. But we came, we fished, we conquered. Five of the nine guys were able to make it, so we had a simple majority to declare the rest of them lame who could make it (some were legitimate, some could have lied better). I showed up on Friday afternoon, and the Miller’s Brewhouse sounded like a good idea for lunch. One thing led to another, and it was very difficult to get up at 5:30am to go fishing. Nonetheless, we were off to hop aboard the Chulamar and head out into the Gulf. (This was all pre-Oil spill, so we may be the last people to fish in the Gulf… ever.) We headed 17 miles offshore… and with a hangover… my god… I didn’t think it was going to work out, but the seas were calm, the sun was perfect, and the breeze was warm. Anything else, and I’d have been chumming the waters. We stopped near a wreck, and dropped our lines… and would you know it, the first time I pull up the line, 2 fish on it. Yes, we had two hooks on the lines, but who catches two fish, honestly? Next line down? 2 more fish. There was a crazy lady on the boat, which always makes for some great unintentional comedy, and she started calling me ‘double trouble’… excellent. So, we continued to fish, and fish, and fish. By the time we got back… we easily had 60 fish. What do you do with 60 fish? Well, you do a Ray’s Famous Fish Fry for one, and two, you have Carl go to the grocery store, get some dry ice, and have him take it home… funny looks from flight attendants at no extra charge. In all, it was a great time to get back together with the guys, and I hope to make that happen in a little less than a decade for the next rendezvous. (You may notice an old man with a fish head on a line… we caught a Red Snapper, the line was being pulled hard… then it suddenly got very light… but when it was reeled in, there was only this left on the line with a row of shark’s teeth in the skin… also, the old man was not a fraternity brother of mine, as cool as that might have been.)

And so… there were times, and they were good.