Opening Day: 3000 miles away

THOSE OF YOU who know me know that Monday will be bitter-sweet for me. Sweet because it's Opening Day. Bitter because I won't be able to experience it first hand. You can show me calendars that say otherwise, but for me spring officially begins when Major League Baseball officially opens its season. Opening Day is a symbol of how American (or is it Latin American) baseball is.

I'm not trying to go David Halberstam or Thomas Boswell on you, but I'll be thinking a lot about baseball on Monday. A lot of the time I'll be thinking about how long it's been since the Baltimore Orioles even resembled a competitive team, but thinking about the plight of 'my' Orioles is somehow better than not thinking about them at all. Their Opening Day roster is a bit unfamiliar to me (Luis Hernandaz? Adam Jones? Luke Scott? Randor Beird?) but it doesn't matter, I'll follow along from afar and root for the best.

Meanwhile, in Washington the hometown Nationals are opening their season tonight in a brand new stadium. It looks amazing on video, with sweeping views of the US Capital, the Washington Monument, and the Anacostia River. Can't wait to see it. If someone from home goes to a game -- please send photos!

I don't ever regret moving with my family to France, but there are times when I wish I could jet home real quick for a couple of days. Tomorrow will be one of those days.

Late Update: Ryan Zimmerman hit a home-run in the bottom of the 9th inning to win the Nat's opening game in their new stadium.

[obscure reference guide: David Halberstam, Thomas Boswell] (these won't be obscure to some of you: Kevin, Dan, Jeremy, Dad, any others?)
CJS