I was hammering away at an essay in Spanish class the other day when half the class suddenly shut down their computers, gath­ered their books, and filed out the door.

At first, I was curious, but then I had a flashback from the previous year's second semester - a handful of kids on the auditorium stage dancing with invisible actors as the teacher read the lines of seven absent classmates.

Spring sports, it would seem, are now upon us - along with, perhaps more shockingly, spring itself.

Yesterday, I bought a new pair of flip-flops and was actually able to wear them out of the store. It was abo...