The edge of spring makes me nervous. I have allergies. I prefer cooler weather . The changing of the seasons signals the end of college basketball and football. Hell, I still have a good-sized stack of firewood to burn. My tradition is to attempt to burn my last fire, and my last bit of wood, on the night of the NCAA basketball championship. I have too much to make that happen this time. Guess I’ll save some for early next season.
Changing seasons. What’s coming next? Tons of pine pollen. Spring break for my son’s school. First couple of trips to the coast. And soon, sooner than you might think, the Legislature will be back in town.
What can we expect? A lot of very serious and anguished talk about the budget. Some crime-control issues. Add to that what I believe could be the most important issue to be considered this short session: Contributory negligence. The way the law works now, if a driver injured in a car wreck is the least bit negligent — I mean the LEAST bit, like an expired inspection sticker or something — they can be held virtually as liable as the drunken driver with no license who, speeding, runs a stop sign and hits that driver in a fatal crash. Who should be blamed? Obviously, the drunken driver. But in our state, because the other car had an expired inspection sticker, that driver can be considered at fault too. This isn’t right. No two ways about it.
It’s spring. Time for change, huh?