Hasn’t the weather been great lately?

After bouts with rain and some of the coldest temperatures ever recorded in the community this past winter, spring has been pretty mild.

We’ve had some days in the 90s, but mostly in the 80s with an occasional 70 degree reading to cool us off every once in a while.

With the game snowed out the other day in Minnesota, white out conditions in Colorado and devastating tornadoes in Mississippi, the argument can be made that we have been enjoying the best overall weather in the country.

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The passing of Annette Funicello brought back memories.

She was one of the first “crushes” I had as a young boy. The most famous of the original Mousketeers on the Mickey Mouse Club that debuted in 1955, Annette was as cute as they came in her mouse ears.

I often thought, “I wish I could meet her, but fat chance of that happening when I was living in Oklahoma and she was a California girl.”

But then one day when I was eight years old, my dad came home and asked me if I’d like to go see the Mickey Mouse Club. They were coming to the Oklahoma State Fair and he had to cover it for the newspaper he was working for at the time.

There was about a week in between when he told me and the day they were to appear. That was just about the longest seven days I remember of my entire childhood.

Finally the big day arrived. There was already a crowd there when we arrived. My dad had me stand along a roped off walkway while he went to an area nearby for reporters.

Then a bus pulled up and the Mouseketeers started coming off and walking down the walkway. First off was head Mouseketeer Jimmy Dodd, followed by Cubby, Karen and Darlene. Then there she was. It was Annette. She looked just like she did on TV.

As she passed I didn’t know whether to yell out something to get her attention or just stand there in awe. I chose the latter, and it paid off. As she passed within feet of me she turned her head and smiled. Maybe it was meant for the whole crowd but she looked right at me.

That was good enough for me, she had made my day.

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Look inside today’s edition of The Times for the Spring edition of HOME. It has the latest news on the improving Northeast Valley housing market, tips on buying a home, new home projects and other interesting features.

There is a story that we understand became a non-story before it was distributed.

The story on Toll Brothers possibly buying and developing the Vista Verde parcel has fallen through. Reporter Barb Charzuk received word on Saturday that the national home building firm has withdrawn its contract offer on the property. HOME was printed on Friday night.