Feb. 1, 2011
As I write this, we're preparing for the end of the world.
It's been nice knowing you.
Breathless, agitated meteorologists are hugging their loved ones preparing to say goodbye.
The Storm of the Century has people losing their minds. Before a flake had flown.
I couldn't see the end of the line at the Costco gas station. (The world may be ending, but dammit, I'm going to save 3 cents a gallon.)
It's snow, people. It'll be a couple of days of trudging, some hunkering down, a little shoveling and scraping, but we'll get by. Throw a log on the fire and wait it out.
We love Michigan, remember?
Of course, this little bit of Pollyanna-"C'mon, let's get all the kids together and put on a show in the barn" optimism is nudged along by the fact that in a couple of weeks, some of us will be in Lakeland, where the warmth is a stark reminder that baseball season is upon us.
(You shouldn't use such language when reading the FOX Sports Detroit website.)
But that's the message. (Whistling a little, toeing the ground here, muttering under one's breath, avoiding eye contact ... ) Not that some of us will be worried about what SPF to use or trying to decide what hat to bring to cover the bald patch that now seems to invoke the word "acreage."
No, the message is that once we reach February, there's a gear shift. We allow ourselves to start thinking about baseball.
The Tigers made some rather startling and impressive moves this off-season. A new catcher, a new setup man, a new starter and the return of some of their stalwarts. Whether it's enough to match the White Sox, who pushed all their chips into the table and bet their kids' tuition money on winning it all this year, is yet to be seen.
The discussion about all of that, however, in February is most of the fun.
The Red Wings are coming out of their annual All-Star break poised to make their usual springtime run.
The Pistons, after an absolutely dreadful beginning, seem to have at least found a path.
But once we turn the calendar page over to February, suddenly baseball doesn't seem like a forever away.
That's what will get us through this little band of snow that's coming.
The F-word is February. Not that one you were thinking.
Now, can somebody take me to the airport? I hear it's going to get bad around here ...
