marks the return of Michigan's fastest-growing religion: slo-pitch.
Needless to say, my wife, Susan, is not quite as fond of April as I am. However, even she would rank it among her favorite months. She is a fine tennis player, and April brings with it the first opportunity in half a year to hit the ball around. She also loves lawn work and spends a great deal of time in our garden. I use the word "our" loosely.
Surprisingly, slo-pitch season is something Susan en-
joys as much as I do, if not more. The thirteen guys on our team range in age from twenty-eight to thirty-two, with me being the youngest. Seven are married and three have children. Tournaments, barbecues, pool parties, and evenings at our sponsor's—Banfield's Bar and Grill, a terrific bar in Ann Arbor—are the highlights of the summer. All the wives and girlfriends get along famously. In fact, they appear to hold contests to see who can sit in the stands and pay the least attention to the game. Inevitably, when a game ends, the first thing our devoted fans ask is "Who won?"
This April, though, is a little different from Aprils gone by. Sue is pregnant, or as she likes to put it, "we" are pregnant. If it's true that we are pregnant, it is also true that I am handling it better than Sue. I am seldom tired and I haven't gained a single pound over the first five months.
Actually, Sue is handling the pregnancy very well. She is a beautiful woman who prides herself on her appearance, so she has kept herself in excellent shape. As for being tired, no way. She's too excited. I'm sure every woman feels that way when she's about to have a baby, especially her first, but Sue is in a different league. One week after our doctor's confirmation, we had already bought a complete