A little bit of rain never hurt anybody
By: Tom Pfingsten

Good people of Fallbrook:

Once upon a time (about a week ago) water fell out of the sky for several days.

In Southern California.

You may have noticed.

And now there is sunshine, and green plants growing everywhere. I know what you' re thinking: Where are our brown hills and our dust-covered landscapes?

The air smells clean. It's weird.

But let me assure you, we would not want to be anywhere else this winter.

I checked.

On Thursday afternoon, the national forecast was bleak:

Boston, Mass. ---- 27 degrees with 30 mph winds.

Seattle, Wash. ---- 53 degrees with showers. For a long time, knowing Seattle— constant water from the sky.

Detroit, Mich. ---- 12 degrees. Twelve!

And, finally: Fallbrook, Calif. ---- 68 degrees and sunny.

That, my friends, is why people from Boston, Seattle and Detroit are flying here right about now for a vacation.

I always enjoy the rain, because I like to listen to it hitting the roof at night and watch the gutters fill with that one resource so valuable in Southern California.

The hills turning green for a few months doesn't hurt, either.

Off in the distance, where the hills rise into mountains, white dusts the horizon, beckoning those of us who have skis and snowboards packed away in the garage.

Finally, it does a Southern California soul good to see all that water pouring down because we all know we haven't been getting enough rain.

The old-timers say, "What do you expect when you live in a desert?" And they are right.

But the fact remains: Drought has been upon us for several years.

Keith Lewinger, general manager of the Fallbrook Public Utility District, told me last week that the steady rainfall eases demand temporarily, because fewer people are watering their lawns. (You weren't watering your lawn in the rain, were you?)

"It helps, but it won't solve the drought," Lewinger said, meaning that when our cool, damp weather wears off this spring, the water gurus who keep tabs on regional supplies will again be calling for conservation.

I suppose that's the real reason I enjoy the rain: In a desert like ours, a good thunderstorm dumps an embarrassment of riches. And you can watch it run down the windows. Stand out in it, if you want, go splashing in puddles.

And now it's sunny again, and I wouldn't want to be anywhere else.

The point is, drought or otherwise, at least we're not in Detroit