Mother Nature

Today was kind of nice-- overcast at times, but the sun really broke through the clouds for the most part. It was a welcome respite. By now, if you're not in Southern California (or the "Southland" as the local newscasters inexplicably like to call it), you've been hearing and reading in the news about our deluge. No mudslides near me, no road closures (although I understand the Hollywood Freeway had to be shut down due to extensive flooding), no flooding of any kind. Just tons and tons of water running down the edges of the streets, in the gutters, and pooling up at sewer entrances and street corners. There's supposed to be more nasty weather coming up eventually, but I think for the time being we've got a break. Of course, we can't complain-- there are places in this country that haven't seen above-freezing temperatures for a while, and places like Boston have seen more snow than they care to see in a normal season. Often when I talk to friends about where to live, we eventually reach a consensus that there really is no one "safe" place to be. If you're in the Southeast, Florida, or along the Gulf Coast, you've got hurricanes and flooding; if you're in the Northeast, you have some risk of hurricanes (1938 is a good example), definite risk of super snowstorms (think Boston, Buffalo, and even New York)-- Mid-Atlantic can get the brunt from either of the previous two regions. For example, my mother-in-law's basement flooded during the recent hurricane season, and my wife's cousin's car was carried away in the flooding in downtown Richmond, Virginia.

In the Old Northwest region, you've got flooding, tornadoes, and severe winter weather-- I remember a classmate in New York who was from Kentucky, and he told me about how his family's house had been flooded when he was younger, and they had lost all kinds of things. the central Southern Plains has the same danger of tornadoes, especially in the famed "Tornado Alley." The Northern Plains has some of the coldest weather in the nation, and all along the river valleys and deltas you've got the risk of flooding. Anyone recall Fargo and other places along the Mississippi a few years back?

In the Southwest you've got droughts and flooding during the monsoon season. In the Pacific Northwest, you've got the risks of tsunamis, earthquakes, and volcanic activity (Mt. St. Helens, anyone?). Here in California, we've got earthquakes, wildfires, mudslides, and along the coast, the risk of tsunamis as well (Crescent City in 1964). There you have it-- that's all just the U.S. of A., you know. I'm not even ready to begin with the rest of the world.

My solution is to just find where I'm happy, and that's that. For now, that's California. I could see myself back in the D.C. area, and there's other places as well that I would be okay with, but I prefer California or D.C. Regardless of where I end up, I'll adapt to whatever Mother Nature throws at me. Take the appropriate precautions, and that's that.

I guess this is the kind of conversational material you talk about when you have nothing else to discuss. For me, that's not entirely true, but at some point, every conversation eventually gets around to the weather. So I guess for this blog, that time is now.