If you haven’t heard, we out here in California have had a bit of rain this winter. We have set records for cloudy days, snowy days in the mountains, rainy days, days with record low temperatures, number of days with frost and number of days of locals complaining that they can’t go sunbathing on the beach…if there are any beaches left.
Unlike most years, Californians are experiencing winter for the first time in a long time. Our weather is more like Seattle than SoCal. Fortunately, the sun has finally popped out from behind the clouds and stopped, at least for a while. People around here are bounding out of their forced hibernation, trying to soak up some of that vitamin D the sun provides.
Since the sun is shining again, we residents of the Golden State can now see the damage caused by an especially wet winter. There are many houses and businesses around our neighborhood with large blue tarps on top of their roofs. The steady downpours have exposed leaks that have been lying in wait during our extended drought. Just like heating and cooling companies that are swamped during a heat wave or cold snap when they find their HVAC systems not working, roofing companies are getting swamped…pardon the pun. Desperate clients are trying to prevent more damage before the sky opens again.
In the midwest, where I grew up, there are five seasons. Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter and Road Repair. It is an endless cycle. The area has 5-6 months of terrible weather, then another 5 to 6 months of road crews trying to fix the damage. Fixing potholes is one of the most important ways for eastern politicians to make points with their constituents. Out here on the west coast, if there is a road crew out on the highways, it is usually widening the existing freeways or building new ones to accommodate all the cars we have out here. They may have to pass on that this year, because they will be too busy fixing the potholes due to the horrible weather we’ve had. Being an expert at driving on pot hole challenged roads, I don’t barrel down back roads out here. What may look like an innocent puddle is hiding a sinkhole that can swallow a tractor trailer truck. Not to mention, bent wheels, blown tires, wreaking havoc on suspensions and making the passengers in my car wet their pants. There is one fun part of watching cars trying to handle potholes, all the Ferraris, Lamborghinis, Corvettes and any low riding cars popular out here, trying to navigate these land mines on our usually pristine roads. I guess if they can afford cars like that, they can afford to fix them.
Another hidden treasure from our wet winter, torturing many Southern California residents is pollen. This may be the greenest spring I have ever seen while living here. Our hills are usually covered with brown shrubs and grasses waiting to be kindling for late summer fires. The view out my window of the Santa Monica mountains looks like something from Ireland. They’re covered with all kinds of wildflowers, blooming weeds and pollen producing vegetation. While the beautiful colors are wonderful, the hacking, sneezing, and sniffling from the hay fever is bringing many of us to our knees. It’s been a tough year for us folks with allergies and a great year for the drug companies that make allergy medications. I hope they’re covered by Medicare.
There has been one industry that has especially suffered due to our very rainy winter, Car Washes. When they lose a day of customers, they can’t make up for it by having more people show up the next day. In the land of automobiles, car washes are usually packed. I’m thinking of doing a Public Service Announcement to help raise funds for those guys out there with the towels, who dry off our cars, clean our wheels and squeegeeing our windows, just hoping for a generous tip to survive. I’ll have Sarah McLachlan singing, “In The Arms of the Angles” and I’ll ask for people to donate just a dollar a day to help. I will take that money and make sure to keep these guys thriving while they’re cleaning my car twice a week. Consider it a direct donation.
Achoo…bless me.
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