as simple as the weather

We are just finishing the latest round of fires in my neck of the woods and once again we are reminded of the precarious nature of human habitat. When you build homes in beautiful canyons and hills in fire prone areas, and then you get fires, you are experiencing the outcome of human choice. It is no different than New Orleans. When you live below sea level, surrounded by water, and then suffer a huge hurricane with resulting disaster, it should be no surprise.

Will anything change? I don’t think so. We simply make these choices all the time. Besides fires, I live in earthquake country. The Northridge area. We had our last “big one” back in 1994. When will the next major quake strike? I don’t know, but I do know my family and I will be going about our lives in the same way.

Yes, we have food and water and other supplies stored up just in case. Our home is fairly solid, having survived ’94 with less damage than many. Yet, we had homes destroyed and homes untouched on the same blocks all over our city. You just don’t know.

Why do we stay? One simple reason is the weather. I remember watching the Rose Bowl as a child in the middle of Wisconsin winters. California looked like Eden. That had to have some influence on my moving out here, even if subconscious. Probably the same for my beach-loving spouse. Even today we are still amazed how beautiful the weather is so much of the time. We like hot and so it works for us. It’s no Eden, but it is home.