Spring is here, there is madness all around, and most of it has nothing to do with basketball. Like most of Alabama, I am not a big B-ball fan. I follow it casually because talk shows are obligated to report it. Listening, I am convinced the hosts aren’t that enthusiastic either, but in March, it is all about the Madness.

Bracketology, a new word applied to the “science” of studying the playoff brackets, is THE topic of discussion. In the past, filling out brackets was a family thing. It is no longer.

You would think that I, a male sports fan, would have a decided edge over three females who are not aware that the season started in November. That has not proved to be the case. In the past, I would print bracket sheets and we would sit down as a family and pick our teams. I would pick based on records, talent, injuries, strength of schedule, and seeding. The Admiral and Princesses would pick based on team colors, mascots, cuteness of uniforms, cuteness of players, and one year picks were made by the Admiral based on the names of coaches’ wives.

To make it more interesting, we would place friendly wagers. Ours were not of the monetary kind, but rather services, such as washing dishes, laundry, sweeping, and other household chores. I hate doing dishes, but felt secure in my knowledge of basketball to be able to carry the day. After three years of losing, and one year to all three, I do not mention brackets any longer, marking the death of a family tradition. No one has noticed, thank goodness.

March Madness also applies to the weather. The adage of, “In like a lion, out like a lamb” is truer than not. Thus far this month, we have had temperatures in the thirties and now ranging into the eighties. We have had high winds and gentle breezes, downpours and refreshing showers.

With the advent of such weather, everything that can bloom, has, driving all allergy suffers mad with the month. Not only is pollen covering everything in a yellow haze, we are breathing it too. We can wash it off the cars, but it is not so easy to wash out of our sinuses. I go mad clawing at my itchy eyes and face while sneezing and blowing my nose.

The Madness of March this year extends to Princess the Elder who is a graduating senior. From now through May, she is making college decisions, singing in weddings, concerts, and competitions, planning for not one, but three proms, (all with new, expensive dresses), and fighting in a boxing tournament or two. Oh yeah, I forgot, keeping up her grades as well. 

March brings gardening Madness. We decide to plant, what to plant, when, and how much. Divisions of labor are negotiated, making me wonder if I shouldn’t study harder for the brackets and wager time pulling weeds, but given my past experience and frustration, I am not willing to wager hours in the hot sun tilling and pulling weeds on the whim of two teenage Princesses picking teams based on color and cuteness.

It is a mad time of year, but would we have it any other way? I think not. March is Mad, but with it comes spring with new life and hope. Let the Madness continue. I can live with it.

David Wilson Atwood is a local writer whose human-interest columns offer a unique perspective. He may be contacted, at www.starchasers.us or david@starchasers.us.