Old joke: If April showers bring May flowers, what do May flowers bring? Pilgrims, rim shot please.

Ok, so even though my last name is Marks, I’m not going to advocate the old Soviet holiday of May day, but I am going to be happy that it’s May finally. For starters, it’s Derby Day and Malice Domestic this weekend. I’m even more invested in the ceremony this year, because I’m nominated for an Agatha for best non-fiction for Anthony Boucher. So I’ll spend the first weekend of the month with my fingers and toes crossed.

I won’t be able to attend this year, due to state testing. It’s normally a bit earlier in the year, but because of snow and wind, it falls at the same time as all of our testing. I’m bummed about that, but Bouchercon this year will fall during my fall break, so I’ll have all the time in the world to enjoy my mystery friends.

On the bright side, school is almost over for the year. 21 days and counting. It’s always a whirlwind followed by the quiet of summer. I’m looking forward to it.

And never one to overplan myself, I’m only going to take some college classes, finish a rather lengthy chapter on Erle Stanley Gardner and the pulps, recarpet the entire condo — well, you get the picture. It should be a busy, but enjoyable time.

Speaking of which, I spent a fun afternoon at a local old time radio convention in Cincinnati this past weekend. I picked up 60 hours of Perry Mason shows which will also be played this summer. I hadn’t realized that this radio show had morphed into The Edge of Night (my all-time favorite soap) at the advent of television. Gardner hadn’t wanted a soap opera on TV; he’d wanted an hour long nighttime show. He got his wish, but they changed the name of the character on the show to Mike Karr and continued without Perry and Erle. So I enjoyed the outing and got to have Chipotle for dinner, even better.

I hope everyone is having a pleasant Spring.