Rain, Rain, Don't Go Away

I love when it rains in L.A.

It happens so rarely, and never for long enough.  

And, yes, I know that rain in this wildfire ravaged terrain can bring mudslides, and I know the accident rate goes WAY up, and I know how terrible it is for the ocean because all the crap from the streets/sidewalks/sewers goes slushing out into the bay, and all of those things are BAD BAD BAD.

But I love the rain.  

Even six years ago, when it overflowed my old gutters and flooded my downstairs.  Even five years ago, when I had to replace the ceiling in my entry way.  For the second time.  And then re-tile my roof.

I can't help it.  

I love the sound, and the smell, and the crisp coolness in the air. I love wearing sweaters and big boots and carrying an umbrella-- although I don't often actually use the umbrella, because I also love the feel of rain on my face.

I love that my hair gets extra curly.

I love that it's gray all day.  And heavily silent at night, but for the drip drip drip of the rain.

In my office, I leave the door open to the outside.  At home, I sit on my sunporch and soak in the lack of sun as the rain pelts the wooden overhang above.  And I read.  And listen.

Rain makes this city calm.  With the exception of the freeways, Los Angeles becomes something verging on peaceful.  

People stay home.  Meetings are canceled.  Heaters come on.  The memory of bare toes in wet grass comes closer.  I feel like I am here, but not here, as here bends nearer to what I want it to be and wish it were.  

And then the sun comes out.  And it's once again 72 degrees and sunny.  

L.A. returns to being L.A.  

And I go back to scouting for land in North Carolina.  Asheville, for example, gets three to five inches of precipitation every month of the year.  I also scout Minnesota.  Duluth seems to get a lot of rain in the summer.  And there's always Seattle.  

I think I would love Seattle.

Comments

[Kate]

I love when it rains as well, especially when the weather's temperate. I love to work on rainy days, snowy days, overcast days. A good soundtrack helps too. But, I find that I enjoy these days more when they're sprinkled about my weeks. If I get too many snow days, for instance, they can become more of an expectation than a commodity. Still enjoyable, yet, somehow less so. At least for me. : )

[Chris]

I like the rain but KS rain seems to always be accompanied by wind, hail, thunder, lightening and tornado sirens. We've even had a few thundersnows this year! You've GOT to love snow accompanied by thunder and lightening!

Growing up in the DFW area I loved the rain because the majority of the times that it rained there was no thunder & lightening.....it was just rain.
So, we PLAYED in the rain. We ran barefooted in the rain and chased after things that we'd set sail in the gutters.
We had a rain like that here in Wichita last summer. My kids thought I was crazy when I told them to go play in the rain. But they did, and after a bit of instruction *grin* they loved it.

Not sure I could live in a place like Seattle though. I need the sun to shine more than it does there. lol
I'm glad to hear someone in LA is liking the rain though because all I've seen on Facebook and Twitter are people complaining. :-)

Oops, sorry for the epic reply.

[Elizabeth Harper]

Forget North Carolina, come to Cornwall and I'll show you rain.

I am never bothered by the weather here. Locals talk, talk, talk, about it, but I love how green it makes everything through every season.

I've lived in Tacoma, Washington, and different parts of California along with Texas, Tennessee, Oklahoma, New York (upstate) Germany and my home state of Georgia, but when it comes to rain ...I think the perfect balance is here in southwest England.

Being only 10 miles from the coast, seagulls frequently land on my neighbor's roof and the coast path is open to anyone wishing to walk it. Cornish coasts remind me of the beauty of northern California only with less crowds, more friendly people and loads of lovely pubs.

[Chris]

Wow, I don't know about anyone else but I'm off to Cornwall! :-)

[L]

How about Portland? Lots of rain there, too!

[Heather]

Portland may be better than Seattle! And then there's always Chicago...

[Jen]

It's raining north of Asheville right now. I'm just sayin'...