Ellen Said It Best

Millions of people tuned in to watch the Academy Awards presentation last Sunday night.  A few thousand people were unable to watch the telecast because their neighborhood lost power as a result of one of the most brutal winters on record.  During the broadcast the host, Ellen DeGeneres, acknowledged the severe snow and cold crippling much of the nation. She said we were suffering here in California due to the rain. Yes, some elegantly dressed diamond encrusted starlet had to carry an umbrella to keep her hair from being ruined.

A rain spattered window.

Seven weeks ago I posted a blog reporting how Southern California was no longer weather deprived, because the Santa Ana winds were blowing.  These winds bring hot air off the desert and leave a lot of debris in their path.  While they provide us with the warm dry air that brings tourists clamoring to our state, they are also responsible for making the vegetation turn into tinder for massive fires.  Even without the winds, the lack of rain makes the threat of water rationing a grim reality and limits the agricultural production of the state, which delivers about a quarter of all the fruits and vegetables found on grocery shelves throughout the nation.

Drivers need to take extra care on snowy roads.

When I wrote my bit about not being weather deprived I failed to mention we had no measurable precipitation in the New Year.  It didn’t seem too funny since according to meteorologists, at least up until last Thursday night, this was the greatest drought on record in California.

Having grown up in the Midwest, it seems odd to become concerned about rain, even if it’s the hundred-year storm.  We don’t do anything small here. The natural balance to the most severe drought in history is rain coming down in such heavy streams the gauges measure it at more than an inch an hour. Accumulations exceeded five inches in a single day in some areas.  Flooding actually forced some people to abandon their hillside homes.  The amazing thing for me is natives don’t understand thunder, because it happens so rarely here.  Most of them turn to see if they are going to be victims or witnesses to a drive by or whether somebody’s Mercedes backfired.

It has been a year of snow followed by cold followed by snow.

Like most Californians what I love about the place is the monotonous repetition of sun-filled warm dry days.  However, for the sake of the nation and the desire to see its economic recovery continue, not to mention the fear of having the already high price of Southern California tap water skyrocket into the stratosphere, I wholeheartedly welcomed the rain.  Not only that, being retired, I didn’t have to travel the freeway, where those raised in this dry climate don’t understand the need to slow down when the surface of the road becomes wet. When they go up to the snow-covered mountains they put chains on their tires, but they never slow down. The number of cars flipped over due to slick surfaces is astounding.

So, the next time you see some overpaid no talent super star carrying an umbrella that isn’t coordinated with the rest of her attire stop along the red carpet to give an interview be sure to tweet her a note of appreciation for the sacrifice she made so you can enjoy fresh produce grown right here in the U.S.A.