Opinion

Not so fast, my friend

Thursday, March 25, 2010

It happens every single year and serves as proof, once again, of one thing: I'm a dope.

About this time of year, I start getting in a great mood. It starts with sports. I'm in the midst of March Madness. Spring training is in its final push toward opening day. Playoff talk in the NBA and NHL is in full swing.

Even high school sports are just about ready to begin the spring season -- my favorite high school sports season, by the way.

And in the midst of this sports euphoria comes the wonderful weather we had for a week or so.

For a few days I keep my guard up. "This is too good to last. It's still March. Weather in March isn't this good."

That works for a few days. I certainly enjoy the weather, but I make sure not to get emotionally attached. It's kind of like a first date. Have a good time, but don't let yourself go.

Springtime has a long tradition of breaking my heart, though. The days pass and things start to feel consistent and comfortable. You think, "Maybe April came early this year." Deep inside you know it isn't true, but you just go with what feels good.

For me, the worm officially turned on Wednesday. I made three big mistakes. The first was wearing shorts to work. I've worn shorts a few times recently, but only to go out and get the mail or maybe run an errand. This was the first time I committed to wearing shorts for an entire day.

The second mistake was putting a beautiful picture on the front page of Thursday's Banner of blooming daffodils. My headline was something about spring being in bloom.

The final nail was a statement I made on the Internet. I logged on to my Twitter account Wednesday afternoon and said the following: "Proof that spring has arrived: 4:15 and I'm the only person in the office."

You can't give fate a bigger opportunity at kicking you squarely in the teeth than making a statement like that.

And so it has. As I write this, I'm sitting at my desk in the middle of Thursday afternoon. It's not too bad outside. A rain has set in, but at the moment it seems like a spring rain. I know better, though.

Last night, when it came time to pull the weather forecast from the AP, I was a bit surprised to see Thursday's overnight low.

High 20s.

What? It's not January. I read it again.

High 20s.

That's when I began to realize what I'd done. The weathermen can blame cold fronts, the changing season or whatever else they want, but I know the truth. I'm the reason the weather is turning cold again. I got cocky, and Mother Nature decided to knock be down a few rungs.

As you read this, I assume it's Friday morning or afternoon and considerably cooler than it was a few days ago. Those beautiful daffodils we put on the front of yesterday's paper probably took last night pretty hard.

All I can say to you, Putnam County, is I'm sorry. This weather is probably my fault. I hope I won't do it again next year, but I make no promises.

All I can say is, I'm a sucker for spring.