hillary dixon rust

It's been raining for over 24 hours straight in Los Angeles. I know in a lot of places this is a normal occurrence that is of little note but here...


It sounds cliche but I cannot remember the last time it rained here before Monday. It causes everyone and everything to go into a state of disturbance. It's like a stone being thrown into a pond. You may not even see or hear the stone break the surface, but the ripples come regardless. 


The first thing you notice is that everyone talks about it. It starts off with "Well we sure do need it." and "I LOVE RAIN!" and quickly switches into "Oh come on! Still!?" 


People's driving patterns change rapidly and none of the changes make any more sense than how people were driving before the rain but now the roads are slick and it makes it even scarier to be out and about. Some people slow down to well below what is safe and others speed up even faster than they would normally drive to get around the slow pokes. The people that slow down a little (like say, to the  posted speed limit (which many would consider normal behavior for driving in the rain)) get trapped in a bizarre game of dodge the idiots. Which is almost exactly like driving in LA all the time anyway but somehow the rules have shifted even though the board looks the same. Like playing Scrabble in French but with the same old English board and letters. 


I went and saw a movie in an old theater last night with some friends and there was caution  tape wrapped around in a strange Bermuda type triangle on a large group of seats in the front section. We assumed it was some kind of construction or remodel issue. The movie started and the rain picked up and the water poured through the roof all over the seats that were taped off. The hole in the roof could have been there for months and no one would have known because there was never any water to come through. It was an interesting situation. How can you blame them for not repairing a hole they didn't know was there?


 I personally am still enjoying the rain. I went for a walk in it yesterday just because it seemed like a good thing to do. People in the Pacific Northwest jump out of bed when it's nice outside to make sure and take advantage of the few sunny days they get every year so why shouldn't I make sure and feel the rain on the rare occasion it decided to spit down? Plus this gives me good excuse to sit down and do some real research into the documentary. 


I've pretty much decided to try to seek out DIY types, urban farmers, environmentalists, and anyone pursuing sustainable living. Essentially people that live not on the edge of society really, but sort of on the edge of "the system". People that aren't waiting for the government to come along and solve the problems of clean water and food that's free of pesticides etc. People that are forming their own ways of making this country livable. Or at least something like that. Heck, maybe the only people I will meet will be selling worms on the side of the highway. That could be cool too though.


The weather is supposed to make a turn for the sunny by tomorrow and then it goes right back into high 70's and sunny until we all forget what rain is again. Hello Halloween!


Chirp,
hillary