thinking about the weather

The day before I was scheduled to fly out to New York the Martha people called to see if I could take an earlier flight because a snowstorm was scheduled to hit the city right when my flight was due. So the necessary adjustments were made and our plane touched ground before the first snowflakes did. Once in the city, all the buzz was about this snowstorm - apparently the first of the season. It was so strange to see all this activity being generated by the weather. And sure enough, we woke the next morning to a white city with all its snarled traffic, packed subways and cancelled flights.

I'm just so used to weather reports that come off the way Steve Martin's weatherman reports in L.A. Story did. "Last night's temperatures dipped down to FIFTY EIGHT degrees!" Our weathermen, or meteorologists (to be P.C.), often spend days talking about the "big" storm moving in. "Storm Watch 2007!" And then when it finally hits, it's, like, twenty minutes of drizzle and a little breeze just barely strong enough to make the windchimes dance. It's usually when there is no mention whatsoever of weather that we actually get a decent amount of precipitation. I always hear stories about the skies just opening up and dumping rain/snow/hail/sleet upon the sleepy town below, but here in So. Cal. we just aren't subjected to the ways of Mother Nature the way most of you are. I remember a spectacular rainstorm in Washington D.C. years ago where we first caught sight of the dark clouds, which were followed by the telltale rumble of thunder and then a downpour of rain. I'd never experienced rain in that way before. I knew it always happened that way in the movies (thunder then rain), but I guess I began to think that was just an exaggerated indication of rain - much the way they throw the sound of crickets in there when they want you to notice the silence.

So, you see, I am a big fan of the weather. Getting snow while I was in NYC was icing on the cake for me. I know how awful this must sound to people who are held completely hostage by the weather. But it made me absolutely giddy to see those snowflakes falling. And finally a chance to wear my favorite navy pea coat that I bought for $10 in a Santa Cruz thrift store years ago. Never get a chance to wear that warm wooly monster here at home. Once at home, when ten hours earlier I was in my coat with hat and gloves, it was so strange to find myself lying in the sunshine with a gentle, warm breeze, while my son danced in and out of his kiddy-pool, which he insisted on setting up.

And, of course, there was absolutely no mention of the rain we were to get later in the weekend.