March Madness

“March is the month of expectation,
The things we do not know,
The Persons of Prognostication
Are coming now.
We try to sham becoming firmness,
But pompous joy
Betrays us, as his first betrothal
Betrays a boy.”
–   Emily Dickinson, XLVIII

I write this from the Palm Beach airport, awaiting a flight that will return to a New York under a Winter Storm Watch…sigh.

Not only that, in order to facilitate my timely arrival, I had to forego the last day of our family’s Spring Training escape and will now miss tomorrow’s game at Tradition Field. 

I do not know if the “prognosticators” are correct about eight inches of snow, but my family and I decided not to take our chances and perhaps be stranded where I sit now for up to two full days.

As I sit here, slightly worried about the weather forecast and the fact that each of the members of our family will likely sit separately on this flight, I’m finding it hard not to think about a potentially bigger worry surrounding “things we do not know”: 

I’m referring to the condition of Johann Santana’s elbow.

Having seen two promising games at Port St. Lucie, I can’t help but feel “pompous joy” about my team.  But something like Santana requiring surgery would turn that joy to sorry and anxiety.

I hope the New York weather forecasters and the gnawing worry about Santana are both proven wrong.