Ballard Street by Jerry Van Amerongen for April 28, 2024

For me it would be thermals!

umm what about May showers… wouldn’t you all need these?

Fallowed by the putting away of a few bottles of booze.

… by throwing their hats into the ring?

Looks like a very solemn ceremony. Probably precedes the Lottery.

They’re wondering what happened to Frosty

Ah. A time of mourning.

Put away the coats, too!

Followed by the “bending over to retrieve the hats and helping each other back up” aftermath…

For one neighbor, it only tuque a second.

Good morning Balladeers!

See what getting old does, back in the day it was throwing your dorm key in the ring. So sad.

Nice idea! Except everyone is different, there’ll be someone in flipflops and a tank top and I’ll be in a couple of layers.

It’s hard to let go. I find having an emotional support squirrel sitting on your head helps.

Lanny was Beret-ed for forgetting to bring the traditional Pork Pie for the post-ceremony potluck — so they all went Deerstalking for Buckets of Cocktails and Cowboy Homburg-ers at the Panama Pillbox.

That ritual is followed by The Taking Off of the Winter Coats.

My favorite time of year.

where I live in the mountains of the northern tier states, we hafta keep winter gear within arm’s reach 24/7, 12 months outta 12, and when I worked on the wildfires, it wasn’t uncommon to wake up with temps below freezing and frost on the ground, and later that day you’d be sweatin’ yer brains out in the 90’s/100+

For me, it’s taking off the winter hat for the summer hat.

Definitely worth celebrating!

as members of a secret society, they keep the date of the ceremony under their hat…

Good evening, Ballard Dears!

Then all go for a quick round of drinks at the Chapeau Chateau – Cappy Hour between 6 and 7 pm.