Classic Rant #932 (April 1, 2013): My Favorite Month

Happy April 1.

Are you going to play any pranks on anybody today?

It's the day for it, as it is April 1, better known as April Fool's Day.

You can seemingly get away with a lot today: little, miniscule pranks that will put a smile on everybody's face.

I remember that when I was a kid, we would purposely confuse the day of the week or the year today.

Nothing earth shattering, but in our young minds, we found these things really funny.

But April 1 signifies so much more to me than just April Fool's Day.

It is the beginning of my favorite month, the potentially strangest month of the year, the month I was born in.

April in the Northeast is a funny month weather-wise.

Early in the month, like through the dreaded April 15--tax day--you have to have some worries about the weather.

Here, it could still snow, and I can remember some Aprils in the past where I actually had to shovel around the house due to the accumulation of snow.

You at least get a lot of rain in April, and April showers are supposed to being May flowers, or so it is said.

But once you get past April 15, not only don't you have to worry about snow anymore, you might have to worry about sunburn.

I can also remember several birthdays of mine where the temperatures climbed into the 90s by my birthday on April 28.

And what about April 28?

People born on April 28 are born under the sign of Taurus the Bull, and while I really don't follow my horoscope much, I know that we are generally very stubborn people.

And the diverse amount of famous people born on my birthday signifies that April 28 is certainly one of the most interesting days, at least for births, on the yearly calendar.

On one end, you have Ann-Margret. Who can argue that she has been one of the world's most beautiful women for all of her years?

On the other end, you have Saddam Hussein. Who can argue that he was one of the world's most evil people during his reign of terror?

But back to April 1.

This year's April 1 is extra special, because it signifies the start of the baseball season for most teams, including my beloved Yankees.

The Yankees aren't supposed to be too good this year. Too much age, too many early season injuries, but you know what they say, hope springs eternal.

On April 1, everyone is in both first place and last place (except for the Texas Rangers and Houston Astros, who had the audacity to actually being their seasons yesterday night, the first for the Astros in the American League).

So here is wishing you a great April. I certainly hope to have one, and I hope you do too.