Weather Above Ground

More Gray Than My Hair

Selfcare (one word) and yes, the weather sucks. The weather sucks most of the year. That’s why all the senior citizens live here. 250,000 of us hunker down in our little boxes, without a single hillside. At one time what is left of the New Jersey Pinelands was ocean bottom. I am not complaining. The taxes would break us if we lived where there was lower humidity, half the pollen, and further away from the nearly full privately owned landfill we smell far too often.

I choose to be here. In California we lived in a wonderful place. There were trees and hills, and all kinds of animals, just waiting to burn up with us, should we not be washed down to rest on the firehouse below us, be crushed by the house above us, or both. I took one look at this place, and I felt immediately safe.

It will be five years back here in New Jersey shortly. I complain about the weather, pollen and odor, but other than those issues, and the absolute lack of aesthetics, this place is perfect. I sleep without worry of wildfire, mudslide, or axe murderer. I am safe here. I miss the amazing views and walks on bluffs above San Luis Bay, but I do not miss the stress, not one bit. The central coast of California is a trip. Do I consider myself expert on the subject? On what was, yes. Now? I would not dare guess. Five years between Camp Roberts and Vandenburg AFB? That would be like half a century fifty miles inland.

I am once again the person from here, in a sea of people from elsewhere. I prefer to be where I am from, unknown, to being far better known as the “other” in comparatively rural coastal California. Now, I feel being unrecognized is a luxury. I enjoy the quiet and privacy.

Last week we had nearly two feet of snow, next week they say it might get close to 80, today it’s 50 and rainy. The birds think its spring already.

There are nice days. This trail is part of our community.