"Winter's not gone yet if the wild geese fly that way..." (King Lear)

Well, winter's icy fang hath yet to appear here in Condoland; and I believe it is now too late for that. It's April (nice name for a baby girl) and spring has sprung. I'm going to miss a few things from Long Island when spring once sprang around my house in East Meadow, and then in Glen Cove. I couldn't wait for the weekends when I could plant new grass seed and start a garden of corn, and tomatoes, and eggplant...not that I liked eggplant, but it was easier to grow than watermelon. Then I would go to a garden shop to see if I could find some new breed of roses, or tulips, or petunias. I would like, once more, to see dogwood and lilac trees in full bloom and those bright red bushes, whose name I've forgotten. It'll come back to me hopefully before I finish this blog.

Then came Track & Field season at the high school and another year with the "four horsemen"--Bobby Marsden, Chuck Henderson, Billy Sherwood and Barry Mayer...and sometimes, Sean Convey. I remember winning the Nassau County Mile Relay with those sterling characters and then taking them to Madison Square Garden for the Millrose Games. We didn't win there, but we put up a good time anyway. The guys were really thrilled about that. experience. I enjoyed working with "The Creeper", Don Thompson, who had been coaching track at the high school since the antediluvian days. And Ambrose Clark, another assistant coach who retired and then passed away a few weeks later. And to think I've been retired now for almost 26 years and I'm still hanging on. My goal is 101; I want to see a couple more World Cups and Olympic Games...and maybe the Dolphins and Marlins and Heat will win something for a change. I could also mention the Panthers, but I'm not into hockey. I'd much prefer seeing a professional shuffleboard team here in Florida with their own covered arena. Can anyone think of a name and a logo? The winner can get a copy of my new book, "Pater Noster in Condoland."

Oh, yes...those crimson bushes were called... ...I forget.