I just walked in the door after my senior softball game. Why they let me in this league, I’ll never know. I hear you snickering. The weather today is beautiful. A clear blue sky, no wind, and 72°. This was our first game in about three weeks. Just a couple of days ago, there was frost on everything outdoors, and the thermometer struggled to get out of the fifties. Before that, about two weeks of heavy rain, flooding, and strong winds. While my wife and I were sitting in our family room, we witnessed a very large pine tree take a tumble into the lake we live on, damaging the property owner’s boat that was parked at their dock and in the direct line of the falling tree. And that is just February.
If you were out here in January, you would think that we were on our way to another drought. We had very little rain, the snow levels in the mountains were at historic lows, and the temperatures were at record highs. December was different situation. We had multiple weeks of record rainfall, along with high winds and widespread flooding. There were worries for the burn areas here that there would be dangerous mudslides because of last January’s historic fires. Throw in the swarms of earthquakes that keep popping up, and there is never a dull moment in Southern California.
Many SoCal residents worry about how many people will move out here and make our freeways even more crowded, when they show pictures of the beautiful, snow-covered mountains against an azure sky (found the thesaurus) during the Rose Bowl Parade and Game. That turned out not to be an issue this year. All the camera shots of the parade and game had raindrops running down the lenses, while the attendees were wearing makeshift ponchos (umbrellas not allowed during either event) and looking very uncomfortable.
Am I ever going to move back east? Not a chance in hell. The weather back around Chicago has been historically horrible. I remember days like that when I lived there. Heavy snowfall, sub-zero temperatures, gale force winds, and driving conditions that would make the most harden truck driver think twice about heading out on the road.
I know comparing our winter to a place like Chicago is like comparing apples and oranges, but it has been a challenging time for everyone involved. It even got below freezing in the Sunshine State of Florida. Aren’t hurricanes enough of a curse for all those snowbirds down south?
I guess what I’m saying is that no one in this country is immune to horrible weather and natural disasters. If it’s not hurricanes in the Southeast, it’s nor’easters in New England, polar vortex in the Midwest, tornadoes in the near west, avalanches in the Rockies, and drought-driven fires, atmospheric rivers, heavy snow, and earthquakes in the west. We also have tsunamis out here from time to time.
There is one misconception I would like to clear up…Californians can drive in wet weather, and they prove it every time it starts raining out here. They are not very good at it, but we get it done. They drive about the same way as they do in dry weather…complete disregard for everyone on the highway. I have driven in winter back in Chicago, in some of the worst snowfalls on record, and in the pouring rain out here. The one thing about out here is that the rain doesn’t turn to black ice like it does back east. I’m happy not to have to deal with that anymore. There are idiots that can’t see a stop light when it’s raining, but it is no comparison to moving down an ice-covered roadway, with absolutely no control over your car. Turning into the skid doesn’t work on a road that could host a hockey game.
This winter has been a challenge for everyone in our country. I read once that the good old U.S.A. is home to more natural disasters than any country in the world. Why couldn’t our forefathers find a little nicer location for our great country?
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