For me the signs of spring are my son's birthday on March 30th. Here's a shot from his birthday party.
Another sure sign of spring for me is the trail to the Kentucky Derby really start to heat up with the final prep races happening the end of March and the beginning of April. There is something about the renewal every year in the Run for the Roses on the first Saturday in May. Every year about 30,000 thoroughbred horses are registered with the Jockey Club. Every owner who sends those papers on every one of those new foals is thinking could this be one that takes me to Louisville in 3 years. Only 20 out of 30,000 can get there. Only one can win. But when those foals first hit the ground everyone has the same dream.
But even for the average person there is something about the Derby. It a tradition that ties generations together. As a kid I remember watching with my parents. We watched the race in my mother's hospital room one year when she was ill with cancer. The race is a constant. Only the supporting cast changes.
Baseball like the Kentucky Derby is a welcome sign of spring. Much as been written about baseball being timeless. It is another thing that can tie generations together. From playing little league all the way to the big leagues it is the same game, with minor changes. If Abner Doubleday could comes back he would know he was watching a baseball game with the first pitch.
Grandparents can tell story after story about the games and players of the past to youngsters and rekindle there own childhood.
Not a bad thing these days to have some constants in one life.
