Driving back South through the valley, you at long last reach the end and climb a mountain. It isn’t a huge mountain, but in midwinter, you might be lucky enough to see some snow before you drop down into the smog-choked Los Angeles flatlands…
Some years the snow is low enough that we can get out and play in it at the rest area at the top of the pass. This year it was just a light dusting, like powdered sugar on a pastry. But it is funny how excited you can get about snow when you live in Southern California…
I know that many of you who live where they have real weather are laughing at me right now, but we take what we can get. Because before long you are in the suburbs of LA…
And that is what passes for wide open spaces in that place. I am just glad we pass through as quickly as possible because as much as San Diego can drive me crazy… it is no Bay Area, let me tell you… LA is just everything I don’t like about people… and climate… and life in general. There, now I have made lots of new enemies and offended many people. But you have to take a stand somewhere, right?
We got home and the dog went nuts. She tore out into the back yard and began barking like a rabid psycho. I took a flashlight out to see what the trouble was, and there was a possum on our fence…
I have never seen a possum in San Diego. I saw one up close back in the Bay Area when I was in high school and me and some friends were walking through thick undergrowth in some woods and we startled a possum in a tree. He fell out and landed right on one of my friend’s head. He tried to jump off, but he couldn’t get good traction, and then his little feet got tangled in my friend’s long hair and that just made it worse. Don’t worry, the possum was fine, and eventually managed to jump down and scamper away. But my friend’s head was a mess. Chunks of hair torn out, and some really awful scratches.
Oh, how we laughed. Good times.
Pouring My Art Out 
Possums are nasty creatures. Just plain dirty, mean, and not to be messed with. Do NOT let your dog get too close to one ever. They hiss and bite and scratch and claw anything that gets in their way and do NOT get scared and play dead all cute like the way they are portrayed on cartoons. And they stink of dead things cause they will eat just about anything. Your friend was lucky he didn’t get hurt really really badly or end up with rabies. They are really bad about being rabies carriers. Shudder. I do NOT like possums…they are too fearless and vicious. Nasty things.
I couldn’t agree more.
Am in solidarity on the LA thing but I have known some very nice people who lived there.
Right. There were nice people living in Nazi Germany, I am sure… Okay… that was a little harsh…
i spent three days with a guy who was pretty high in nazi land, and later went on to do some other equally dubious things, like defend holocaust deniers in court, and he was a very nice man……..no justification of course, just a fact
Adolf loved dogs.
yeah, it wasn’t him
Just saying that there was never anyone so terrible that they did not have some good qualities.
what a species we are
Yes, you are quite a species. I have come to love this planet.
the planet is faultless………..
No, it has lots of faults… hence the earthquakes…
they are only faults according to us, the earth calls them laugh-lines
Just watch out for those facelifts.
Bay Area possums go south for the winter now days 😉
That expalins it. I thought he looked familiar.
Are you from San Fran, San Diego or LA? I’m confused now.
Born and raised in the Bay Area, across the bay from San Francisco. Lived in San Diego for about 25 years… oh god… that’s almost half my life….
If I get my visa I may well be in San Diego, my other half works for a film company who has offices in Vancouver and LA, but his friend from work lives in San Diego and she has invited us to stay with her. I’ll have to find out whereabouts she is.
Dude… that would be so cool… we can show you the sights.
Ok, but no practical jokes… 😀
No way…
Just found out his friend lives in Carlsbad, know it?
Not too far from us. Famous for flower fields.
All right, I’m sending you a blizzard. Nice healthy arctic cold that smells like whales.
mmmmmm… whales…
I sincerely hope that you are not drooling right now.
Maybe… a little…
Give me your address, I’ll send you a box of blubber. Extra juicy.
That is some good eatin’.