Time to take off long underwear.

Wish I could snap my fingers and be back home in Minnesota. In an instant. Instead of having to travel. Having to make plane connections. And risk weather delays. But hey, maybe that's a nice thing about life. Making it a little bit of an adventure. I'm leaving Sardinia. For a while. Gotta catch a flight to Beauvais in France on Thursday. And then find my way to Paris, to Charles deGaulle Airport for a flight Friday to Chicago. And then another flight to Minneapolis. If all goes as planned, I'll be home Friday night Minnesota time. It'll be 1 or 2 a.m. Saturday in Sardinia. Imagine I'll experience jet lag for a few days. But I'll recover in time to go to Arizona March 4 for about three weeks. To take spring training with my beloved and interesting Chicago Cubs. Then back to Minnesota. A nice life, isn't it? That's the advantage of being retired. And having an Italian true love that lives in Sardinia. And a daugther living in Arizona. I've been in Sardinia since Oct. 1. It's gonna be nice getting back to Minnesota. Because I've been gone for a relatively long time. And hey, I owe myself several weeks of true winter. In Sardinia, when temperatures get down into the 30s fahrenheit, people begin to shiver and lament. In Minnesota, we call it a heat wave. Time to rejoice and take off the long underwear. --Jim Broede