In hindsight, Wisconsin's historic recall election will be a fantastical memory. Unbelievable, really. I'm having trouble believing that much of it happened and I lived it, in the eye of the storm. The Wisconsin Reporter has already cataloged the 10 "Weirdest Moments" from the last 16 months.

My favorites:

8. Fleeing 14. In the heat of battle over Act 10 in February 2011, 14 Democratic state senators took what they believed to be a courageous stand: They fled. To an undisclosed location. In Illinois. Supporters called them heroes. National news media certainly painted that picture. Conservatives saw them as cowards, derelict in their duty. The fleeing 14’s plan to stall a vote on the budget bill ultimately failed; the Republican-controlled Senate did some legal maneuvering and went on to vote without them.

4. Barrett-slapped. Maybe for Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett losing in Tuesday’s recall election to the same opponent who beat him in November 2010 by nearly the same percentage was a slap in the face. But one of his supporters took that feeling a little too far. Not pleased that Barrett conceded defeat within minutes after the Associated Press called the race for Walker, the womanslapped the mayor. It shouldn’t have come as a surprise. She told Barrett she wanted to slap him on the face. He said he’d rather have a hug. When he bent down to do so, she clocked him. The candidate has said he will not press charges

9. Sick notes. Scores of teachers protesting Act 10, the Walker bill — now law — that curbs collective bargaining for most public employees, got a helping hand to skip work from doctors who distributed sick notes at the capitol. It worked out as well as Juan Epstein’s “note from Epstein’s mother” on the 1970s sitcom “Welcome Back Kotter.” Many of the teachers got a kind ofprofessional detention out of the deal, and the doctors picked up a few demerits of their own.

It really is hard to believe that these things actually happened.