Life is whizzing along here even though my personal speed would
better be described as a mite slower than a whiz. We’re having one rain storm after another at
my elevation -- but snow continues covering the surrounding mountains creating a picturesque scene. Storm damage has blocked access to Mt. Baldy, a
recreation area above my city.
The L. A. Times provides some revealing photos and links of
other ski and snowboarding areas popular with So Cal residents.
I do regret what residents are experiencing who live further
away from me that you may have seen featured in news stories. Many are reported to be having “evacuation
fatigue,” at home between storms, then being
told personal safety requires they leave their home one storm after another.
Those communities are
being subjected to flash floods washing out roads, sweeping away soil and
buildings, destructive mud slides where the fires devoured hillside vegetation,
beaches and structures eroded – all
threatening homes and lives. Even
in some otherwise unaffected areas the soil has become so saturated that
long-standing trees are unexpectedly uprooted, falling onto cars and houses even after storms,
resulting in lives lost. Mostly, none of this destruction is occurring in the
general area where I live.
* * *
Family living in the Midwest Great Lakes area and on the
East Coast are reaping the consequences of stormy weather we send their way,
plus they report experiencing what sweeps down from the north to be Antarctic-like.
One family group reports the understatement of the year,
that their weather had been a bit “brisk”, but my young grandson delights in having snow days with no school.
Further east, that family group relishes being in a bit of a pocket
protecting them from the worst of the weather seen further north in D.C. and Boston,
but still unusually icily freezing.
Unfortunately, my granddaughter, working and needing to
study for professional certifications, was incapacitated for the second time
this season by some “bug” thriving in that weather --despite her having had the flu shot. Why are such “bugs” so hardy and we humans
aren’t?
* * *
Super Bloom is the Spring promise all this rain brings us. A very
few of my various Poppies are beginning to flower in the parkway. Wild flowers blooming en masse after these
winter rains on what has appeared to be barren desert through our dry years is
a spectacular sight to behold. I
unexpectedly enjoyed such a colorful vision one spring, years ago in
Arizona. We can expect such blooms this
year in our Southern California
landscape.
This Death Valley Super Bloom from 2016 from a YouTuber provides
a view of what we might see.
* * *
Cautionary alert for the politically sensitive.....
More and more candidates are declaring an intent to run for
President in 2020. Clearly no one person will
meet the criteria desired by everyone.
Judging by our last national election’s results we may be lucky if the
candidate receiving the majority of votes doesn’t get thwarted again by the
Electoral College putting in office the person receiving the least votes.
Perhaps to effectively compete all political parties should
field a similar type unqualified candidate, much like the one we have in office now, unless enough voters have concluded a change is needed.
A friend has sarcastically suggested voters should seek a
Used Car Salesperson to be their candidate.
That profession is too frequently scapegoated and maligned in my view. Many of their practitioners are of much
higher ethical and moral quality than the person occupying the WH
presently appears to demonstrate. I tend to think we should
give consideration to a showy “flim flam” person, perhaps a mesmerizing evangelical-like cult-type leader who asks
only that we trust him or her and believe everything they say -- made-up
statistics, blatant lies and all.
We could resurrect from the past the “snake oil” salesperson
who travelled the rural areas with his cart of magic potions, rather than our choosing
even an ordinary “con man” of today for which some might be
willing to settle. Of course, today
the cart some use has been replaced by Twitter and Facebook.
Almost daily I hear of another Prez candidate coming out of
the woodwork -- hints of more expected to emerge. There
truly will be someone to appeal to every possible group in our nation. I do hope the votes aren't so split that we end up with some incidental group the sum of all our other groups would never have elected. Our current leader has made people realize that just any ol’
person could be elected, so those from all walks of life are going to make a
run at the office.
I have no comments to make about any of the candidates presently -- preferring to wait to see how this all shakes down – who’s left after the sifter is shaken. But I’m not too keen on millionaires as they seem to be more focused on self-interest, if our current leader’s apparent operation is any indication. My best thought presently is that we might consider selecting a homeless person who needs a job and place to live to occupy our White House. Whadda you think?
I have no comments to make about any of the candidates presently -- preferring to wait to see how this all shakes down – who’s left after the sifter is shaken. But I’m not too keen on millionaires as they seem to be more focused on self-interest, if our current leader’s apparent operation is any indication. My best thought presently is that we might consider selecting a homeless person who needs a job and place to live to occupy our White House. Whadda you think?
