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Longing for Relief

I am reminded of the 1985 John Waters film, Lust In The Dust: Here, under the burning, boiling, baking, blistering, scalding, sizzling, searing, roasting, toasting, very hot San Diego sun...we long for some relief.

It's getting to be that time of year when all the sunny days run together, creating a blur of unidentifiable days and weeks, rolled into forgotten months. I am always on the verge of buying air conditioning this time of year, and yet I know cloudy, cooler, rainier days are on the way. They're just out of reach.

The grass on my lawn has about had it. Given up for my water conservation efforts, bleached to a straw like state in spots. October is always a tough month in San Diego. And it's the same every year. The early fall, but really summer-like, heat is at its peak.

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No one remembers when we had the last significant rain. The Chargers are struggling. Wildfire season is in full swing. The daily commute seems more of a drag. The faces at bus stops look so hopeless and oppressed. We are bombarded with political ads.

Everyone is tan. People are closer to just snapping this time of year. Our tolerance is at its lowest and everyone seems to be in a hurry. Is this what happens to normally docile San Diegans at the end of a long, hot summer?

The National Weather Service is predicting cooler weather for Saturday, with clouds, a chance of showers and temperatures in the mid- to upper-60s for most of us. Maybe I will go buy a pumpkin.

Comments:

kathryn from la mesa

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October 06, 2008 at 05:08 PM

I am pleased to see your comments relating to grass on your lawn being "bleached to a straw-like state as a result of your water conservation efforts". I too have lawns (front and back) which have given up due to my refusal to use water on the vain, "Keeping up Appearances" mentality of having a green lawn for the neighborhood to admire. At least one of my neighbors shares our stance on not watering lawns. Other neighbors have made comments about how my yard could "use a little water" (as if I were unaware?) or my favorite, "When are you going to do something about that yard?" When I explain my stance on using our valuable community resource to water the lawn, I am typically met with blank stares. I suppose I will eventually break down and landscape using the "Zero-scape" method which requires no water and looks a lot nicer than dead lawn ... But in the mean-time, thanks for sharing your comments on the state of your lawn. It does help to hear that there are others out there who are trying to conserve.

Corrected: October 5, 2024 at 11:42 AM PDT
Brad Martin is the late afternoon host on KPBS Radio.