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Well, it’s finally here, summertime. That time of year that California is known for. In reality, summertime arrived a while ago but the weather wasn’t following suit. It’s here now and it seems to be making up for lost time baking us here in the valleys.
But as the saying goes, it comes with the territory. No matter where you live, you know that there are certain types of weather you can expect, and California is no different. If anything, it is more predictable. With the exception of summer, our weather pretty much remains the same. Sure it cools off in the winter and fall months but any place that you can wear shorts year round, even in December, isn’t what I would call a hotbed of weather activity.
Sure, every once in a while you get hit with a surprise like we did with last winter’s rain storms, but that was a fluke. Right now we are experiencing some unusual humidity and a few drops of rain because of some bleed over from some of the tropical storms to the south. But as most of us know this is just a passing phase. It’s not like we will be seeing this for the remainder of the summer. That’s a good thing for me because I hate humidity, but not enough to move someplace like the desert where you always have “dry heat.” Also I know enough about our weather to stay where I am because when the humidity does pop up, I know it’s only temporary.
When you live here you know that when July arrives it’s only a matter of time before things start heating up. If you were here on vacation and turned on the news weather report you would think that this was a freak occurrence. In their ongoing attempt to justify their jobs, the talking weather heads blow every minor change in the weather out of proportion.
Oh my God, it’s July and its over 100 degrees in Palmdale, Lancaster, and Palm Springs! Gee what are the chances of that happening? Well from personal experience I can safely say, every year of my life. And while I am not Nostrodomus or any sort of psychic I would bet every thing I own on the fact that it will continue to do the same every year for the remainder of my life. Why are they making such a big deal out of something so ordinary? So what if it reaches 110 degrees in the desert, that’s what it does. After all, once you hit 105 it doesn’t make any difference, especially in the desert. Besides it’s dry heat.
But there on every news station the lead story and seemingly every story following for the first half of the broadcast is about the weather. By the time they finally get to the weather it has become redundant. “Now here’s Henry with the weather. How’s it looking out there Henry?” And there stands Henry in front of his green screen looking almost bewildered and says, “Well it’s still hot and will probably stay hot for the remainder of the summer.” Well said Henry, I think that you and the rest of the weather folk here in Southern California should all take a vacation until say the middle of October when there is at least the slight possibility of change.
When I was growing up in this area, when the sun started blazing people started shedding their clothes in hopes of improving their tans. Now, primarily because of the same sort of hysterical reporting on skin cancer, people are covering up every inch of themselves instead. Sure skin cancer exists and you should take some precautions, but that is just common sense. Just as is making sure your pet has enough water when it gets hot.
Coming from a family of sun worshipers I have never been concerned with it. When you live here in California you should expect to get some sun. If you don’t like the sun move north where the sun is less of a factor. To me it is down right bizarre to see, like I did the other day, when it was close to 100 degrees, a person wearing long pants and a long sleeve shirt walk out of a business and promptly wrap their head and shoulders with a jacket and run to their car. It was as though they thought they would burn in the 20 seconds that it would take to get to their car. That or they thought they might burst into flames in that time.
And as if I didn’t see enough of them during the rest of the year, the sightings of those incredibly stupid looking sun visors have increased dramatically. You know those visors that have the incredibly dark tint that comes down and covers the entire face. They make the wearers, who are usually female, look like welders or extras from a cheesy 1950’s sci fi film.
Like I’ve said before, this apparatus should be banned on numerous levels, but primarily while driving. When they are worn when behind the wheel you can’t tell if you have the attention of the driver who is wearing it. Usually you can make eye or facial contact with other drivers that are at say a four way stop. When somebody is wearing this goofy face gear it’s like staring at a wall.
And maybe I am giving too much credit to the intelligence level of the criminal element out there but as long as these things are available and are accepted I don’t understand why they haven’t latched on to them. You see all of these whackos walking into banks with their faces exposed to the surveillance cameras and that is the main reason they get caught. I think if a couple of the criminals who have more brain power than a turnip used them a law would be passed quickly to ban them from being worn.
Because if you feel the need to wear one of these things, other than to provide the rest of us with a laugh and a giggle, then Southern California is the wrong place for you to be living. Just a suggestion, you might want to invest in some sunscreen
Trust me, you won’t melt and everybody looks better with a tan.
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