Voicemail Male

By Ken Heath

Ides of March

“Beware the Ides of March!” The Bard made the middle of this month famous with those words he stuck in the soothsayer’s mouth as he warned Julius Caesar. The only other time I remember hearing about a soothsayer was on Johnny Carson when he donned a turban and read jokes from a mayonnaise jar left on Ed McMahon’s front porch. But I digress.

We don’t need a soothsayer to remind us that our mountains don’t play well with others when it comes to weather. As crocuses are popping in the Piedmont and trees are greening up in Greensboro, and our NC neighbors tempt us into pulling off the patio furniture covers and Bermuda shorts, we know better. Oh, we’ll have those sunny afternoons that fire up our Spring Fever, then BAM—like ol’ Caesar, we’re floored—not by steely knives, but icy temps.

We’ve been surprised by April snows, so mid-March is indeed in the sweet spot for quick-change weather. I remember a spring Bristol race where I was doing a live remote from the twin cities in a cold rain, only to drive back to a foot of snow here in Marion! The good news is, it doesn’t last long. That snow was gone off the roads the next day, from all but our memories in a couple days. It’s enough of a reminder for me to keep my ivory, white legs covered a bit longer, and my Jimmy Buffett tees in the drawer. The seasons are a’changing. Just don’t rush Mother Nature.