TEMPE, Ariz. -- Nearly everyone you talk to in Milwaukee these days is sick of snow, cold, ice dams, potholes, salt-stained cars and all the other accessories that have accompanied one of the more brutal winters in memory.

I imagine people down here feel the same way about sunshine and hot weather during the summer.

I don't understand it. But, I imagine it.

At the risk of infuriating the entire reading audience, I will report that the weather today was close to perfect. It was sunny, clear and 81 degrees.

As I watched a group of Brewers reserves and minor leaguers stumble to a loss against the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, I looked out at the many Wisconsinites in the crowd at Tempe Diablo Stadium (the Brewers gear and pasty complexions are a dead giveaway) and I came to a realization.

For folks from our corner of the country, sunshine and warm weather are precious commodities meant to be sampled, savored and shared whenever possible. Did you ever see a dog or a cat stretch out blissfully on a sunny patio? That's how I felt when the sun set this evening. The temperature was so friendly and the air smelled so sweet that I thought, "This would be, hands down, the most beautiful night of the year in Milwaukee. Around here, it's just Tuesday."

Many of the "locals" around here -- particularly the older transplants from the Midwest -- seem to comment about how nice the weather is. Most of the younger people just seem to go about their business without noticing.

I don't think I could get to that point. I don't think I'd ever lose that "it's so nice I have to be outside" compulsion.

Nevertheless, I'd like to try it someday.