Rain Rain Rain

Well we are in day 2 of I guess the 3rd or 4th week of the long anticipated El Nino, and I’m going crazy. WTF do you do when it keeps raining and raining and raining?
My washer and dryer are in the garage-converted to man cave which is not attached to the house. It’s close, tho. It’s just across the covered patio and joined to the covered car port, so I only have a space of about 18 inches that isn’t covered between my back door and the garage door, but the water drips off the two roofs like a water fall and I get soaked no matter how fast I sprint. And sprinting is not encouraged as the concrete can be very slippery when wet.
I have often told the story of visiting with Sarah – many years ago – when she was living in OR and expecting John Rafael. Although it was June, the skies would often darken up with the next downpour. One afternoon she mentioned that we needed to go grocery shopping. And I said, “But, it’s raining. We have to wait for it to stop.” Except for her big pregnant belly, she would have doubled over laughing. “If we wait for the rain to stop, we’ll starve,” she countered.
I love rain, but I’m quickly discovering that I only love it on my terms – that is, once in a while, lightly, and preferably when I don’t have to go out in it anywhere.
In our normal semi desert and recent drought conditions, we look forward to rain like a camel coming upon a mirage in the desert. My students who are visiting here do not share my enthusiasm though, so I tell them it isn’t rain at all. Everyone knows, it never rains in California. This is liquid sunshine. When the next day dawns sunny and bright, they get a laugh out of it. This season, I don’t think anyone is going to think it’s funny.
I lived in Guadalajara for a season and the rain there was well behaved. It would start just about the time I got home – quite late at night and continue until just before dawn. By the time I was up and about, the skies were clear and the sidewalks were dry.
I also had the misfortune of living in Chicago for a time, but I don’t remember much rain. All I remember is bone chilling cold that permeated every bit of clothing you piled on. Although I’d been kind of exciting about moving there, I was never so happy to be leaving a place as when we set foot to go back to CA just days before Christmas. Of course, we weren’t actually on foot, we were driving home in our gto and, happily, without the trailer we’d pulled when we were coming. My Dad had arranged to ship our stuff via the trucking company he worked for which made our return trip much simpler. And, thank goodness.
As we headed across Arizona somewhere west of Flagstaff, which sits at 7,000 feet, we were overrun by flash flooding which brought the traffic on 1-40 to a dead stop where we stayed for some time. Eventually, the highway patrol came and escorted us through the flooded areas issuing strict warnings that we were to find a place to hole up for the night. We ended up in Peach Springs, a wee little town along Route 66 that I’m happy to say I’ve never visited since.
And today the folks in North County got three flash flood warnings. Two were broadcast over the TV and one came via the cell phone. Each time, a very stern-voiced gentlemen said this is the highest level of warning. You must move to higher ground immediately. The problem was, he didn’t say precisely where the danger was. Instead he mentioned the cities involved. His only specific mention was the area stricken by the most recent wildfires.
As I live high on a bluff, I figure my danger is more likely that I’ll slide down the hill. My other concern was of course for my family who are in Fallbrook, one of the cities mentioned in the warnings, but as they are on the top of a hill also, I figured they’re relatively safe.
The last warning predicted that we get from a half of an inch to a whole inch of rain per hour over the next few hours.
The good news is of course that the snow pack in Northern CA is already more than it has been in any recent year. As soon as that announcement is made though, the authorities are quick to say that it won’t likely affect our drought situation much. Really? Are you f*g kidding me?
Anyway, I just wanted to tell those of you who live in colder places and put up with rain and snow on a regular basis - that I take my hat off to you. Wait. Maybe I'll change that. I take my sunglasses off to you.