Day 8 Part 2

Looking at the weather channel was just a bit depressing this morning. We live in a desert with very little annual rainfall and it seems we are getting the year's quota this week. It rained all night and is suppose to rain an inch today. That is a lot for a desert climate. There are flash flood warnings for the desert because some of the higher elevations within the desert are going to get up to 12 inches of rainfall today! There are massive gullies meandering throughout the Coachella Valley for just this purpose. In places, they have been manicured as parts golf courses that straddle the dry river bed. In case of flood, these areas would be devastated. Just now, the sky is lightning up a bit and the sun is casting pale shadows. There is hope.
We are noticing that we get very strange looks from people we meet when we say "Merry Christmas". There is not the same atmosphere here as at home when Christmas draws closer. They just don't seem to get into it here like we do at home. The Baptist church was an exception. It was a haven of Christmas Political Incorrectness and it seemed to be a point of issue every time it was said, as if being rebellious to the prevailing attitudes in the US psyche this time of year. Reference was made to the similarities of our culture and the culture during the Roman occupation when Christ was born, oppression, over taxation, and dislike of the government. It is a weak comparison at best, but there seems to be a Tea Party mentality here, at least in the Baptist community. This is not surprising as I am assuming that the majority of the Christians in America are Republicans and feel oppressed by the Democrats attitude of big government and control. Throw into the mix that this area is made up of wealthy retired folks, people who probably made their money through self initiative and do not appreciate anyone telling them what to do with their money. Self employed people seem to feel that they are the only ones who really work for their money. What they really mean is that they took some risks.
Speaking with the next door neighbour, a wealthy Jewish widow, we learn that this street we live on is the nicest in the area because the developer of this whole area lived on this street and was a leader in initiating standards for his street. He still lives here so we will have to make sure that every blade of grass is in place. Our gardener is supposed to arrive today so we will let him take care of that.
Tonight the first of our gang arrives. He drove down in caravan with an uncle, aunt and cousin. They took their time as they were staying at time share resorts along the way and some of them were off the beaten track. They will be driving through the heavy rain today. It is now a very pleasant 63 F and no rain, but light overcast. I know that if we head out for our daily walk, it will rain. We feel silly walking in the desert with an umbrella. I think they don't know what that is here. We might have to teach them.