The Winter Of Our Discernment

Southern California has three seasons. Most of the year is summer. Summer is generally blindingly bright, and some call it hot, smoggy, and it is sort of, but nowhere compares to the hot and humid misery of St. Louis in August. Hot winds are possible, especially if it is an el nino year, but there is absolutely no rain. Consequently next comes the fire season. It starts at the end of summer and generally lasts a couple of month, till the rainy season begins. It is not rainy season like in the equatorial jungle where it doesn't stop raining for month, but this is the only time it rains at all, and "cold spells and some precipitation possible season" is awkward to say.

This is also the season when the locals forget how to drive. Their bewilderment by the strange moist substance makes them react in one of two possible ways: They either pretend that there is nothing different, and completely ignore the year's build up of oil slicks on the now wet roads, or alternately they drive as if they were in a raging snow storm. Either way spells freeway pileups.

Another interesting aspect of the LA winters is that in certain parts of town the streets have no drainage. I think that the idea is that the streets all sort of slant toward the LA "River" and all the rain water finds its way there. It does, eventually, but it's a slow process, and meanwhile the streets turn into a swamp.