California? Say What?

The new year is now 20 days old. President Bush was sworn in for his second term today. The weather in Southern California this week has been sunny and warm, but last Monday, Jan. 10th, we had a horrible rain storm.

Horrible, that is, by Southern California standards. Out here, a light rain storm with only one or two inches of rainfall is enough to cripple freeway traffic and cause hundreds of fender benders. The Jan. 10th storm is the kind of rain storm that people in the Midwest, the East, and the South have all the time. No big deal. But in Southern California, everyone panics!

When we have this great weather while the rest of the country is being clobbered, do you think Southern Californians are feeling sorry about folks elsewhere? No way, Jose! Southern Californians don't give them a second thought.

What you might find surprising about Southern Californians is that relatively few of them have been any farther east than Las Vegas. A few years ago, when I worked at the Los Angeles Times, I was floored by how few of my co-workers had any desire to visit other parts of the country. The same is true of people in my own family who live out here. Why go away for a vacation?

I think it is idiotic and stupid to feel that way. But, hey, I'm from Chicago. I've been all over this country and know how much fun it is to visit other states. I know that California is not the end of the world.

Well, maybe in a way it is....