Spring is Here

It's springtime, finally. I saw the first robin the other day. I think I'll have to set up a picnic soon.
Picnics are always fun. My first date with my wife was a picnic. We took a basket of sandwiches, a bottle of wine, and a blanket, and went out to my old college campus on a weekend afternoon, and sat out by a little lake. We watched the birds and the clouds, and the wind in the trees, and by the time we'd finished the first sandwich, I knew I was going to marry her.
We don't live out that way anymore, but there's a park not far from here, with a pond and some good shade trees, and we still have that old rough blanket...
It's getting time to call the babysitter and go out for a weekend afternoon, to have a picnic and watch the birds and the clouds. Maybe it's escapist, maybe it's overly nostalgic; I don't know or care. But a picnic with my wife, to celebrate the start of spring: that's fun.
When the weather warms up a bit more, I think I'll take the kids out to that park. There's a small fishing pier on the pond, even though I don't think there are any fish in there, but it's the perfect place to teach a 4 year old how to fish. There's no risk of actually catching anything.

What Do I Do For Fun?

Ok. So I've started talking about fun. But before I start exploring the depths of fun, what do I do for fun?

Well, that depends, on a lot of things. If you'd asked me in college, you'd've gotten some answers that I don't think I can put in a family-friendly blog, but those aren't the sort of answers you'll get from me today.

I like baseball games. Going to them, spending an afternoon at the ballpark, especially in August, when the hot dogs have been boiling for 4 months. Don't try to get me to watch the games on TV; it's just not the same.

I like taking my baby for a walk. She's just started walking, so once we hit the sidewalk, I put her down and let her go. She's incredible to watch, as she pokes into everything she sees, and tried to chase dogs. Usually, she gets tired after about 15 minutes, but it's 15 minutes of solid fun.

I like the music of Bruce Springsteen, especially when I'm driving very fast with the windows down and the stereo up. Those things just seem to go together, and to equal fun.

I also like pina coladas, and getting caught in the rain. But let's not go there today, shall we?

So let's start exploring fun. Why do we want fun? What does it mean to say, "Let's go have some fun?" And were is the best fun packaged and sold?

Greetings for the First Time

And...

We're on. Live. Blogging.

Welcome.

I'm not sure how you got to this blog, but I'm glad to have you here. It's nice to cybersee you.

I've never written a blog before, and I don't know the rules, so bear with me. I thought I'd write about things I know- just a choose a topic- and see what happens. The topic here will be "Fun."

I just thought of that. Clever, huh?

Seriously, though, let's talk about fun. What makes things fun? Why do some of us call it fun, and others call it boring with a capital "B?" What, exactly, do we call fun, and how does it change? I'm a historian by trade, and this how I think...

I want to make this blog public, and open to comments. As I explore the subject of fun, feel free to chime in, and add your own $.02. You can even tell me where the 'cent' symbol is on a keyboard. Learning that would be a little geeky, and it would appeal to my love of trivia. Is that fun?

You get the idea- I want to talk about fun things in a fun way- explore the history of fun- determine the idiosyncrasies of fun- and most of all, have fun doing it.

So I'll be back later, with a post on something I have found fun. I'll talk to you then.