The times, they are a-changin'

When I was in college, the first warm and sunny days of spring brought about an annual tradition: skip afternoon classes, buy cheap beer, sit on someone's front porch (preferably one in the "Village"), listen to music (Grateful Dead, Pearl Jam, The Eagles, Jimmy Buffett, Nirvana, The Why Store) and hang out. Sometimes we'd kick around a hacky sack or throw a frisbee in the front yard. But mostly, we'd just sit and drink and smoke and waste the afternoon away.

I loved those times of carefree, debt-free, responsibility-free bliss. Today, I wanted to find some friends and a front porch, and I even would have sprung for some beer, though maybe not the cheap stuff we used to drink. Today was the first day of warm and sunny spring, and it made me happy.

Of course, these days I've substituted the front porch for the office. I think I need to start some new traditions, or maybe just touch base with the old ones.