Wauwatosa Gets Out and Plays on a Sunny Day

Thank goodness it came on a Sunday, and before severe thunderstorms were forecast to move in.

The weather topped 80 degrees in Tosa, and from morning until late afternoon, judging by the crowds on cafe patios, parkways and playgrounds, nearly everyone took advantage of a rare day for early April.

Bicycles, motorcycles, strollers and skateboards came out of the garage and onto the paths and pavement. Shorts, tees and tank tops came out of drawers, and in some cases shirts came off altogether.

Tables filled at outdoor cafes at lunchtime, and many people lingered long over their laptops well through the day, getting in some networking while catching some rays.

Yard work and other kinds of spring cleaning were popular activities.

At Wilson School, a friends-and-family group that was well-equipped for America's pastime got out for some spring training.

"This is me, my boyfriend, my neighbor and all our respective kids," said Kelly Dodd of the lineup on the ball diamond. "I have four (kids), my boyfriend has three and my neighbor has three. So it makes a baseball team."

Despite the diminuitve stature of some of the players, ranging down to tiny, the game was hardball. Dodd's boyfriend, Jeff Hay is the head coach of the Tosa Baseball League's U-10 Select League, and her neighbor Mark Murphy is the assistant coach.

Dodd's daughter Aubrey, 16, plays softball on the Tosa East team, and another daughter, Reagan, 11, is a prospect attending Wilson.

Baseball was not the only order of the fine day for the group.

"I cleaned the garage," Dodd said. "The weather motivated me to do that. And I went to the Sentry to get things for dinner.

"We're going to cook out. Shish-ka-bobs and hamburgers. Kabobs for the adults and hamburgers for the kids."

Here's hoping the cookout didn't turn into a rainout. Just before 4 p.m., the sky that had been clear and sunny all day began to get ominously cloudy, and by 5 it was heavy and felt like rain.

With the threat of thunderstorms in the forecast, Tosa began to gather its things and head indoors. The high Monday was predicted to be 52 degrees, the low 38, with strong winds gusting to 40 miles per hour and rain likely.

We enjoyed it while we could.