California is to Blame!

The dam has overflowed and the truth is out, Californians are to blame for all the ills of the western United States (and probably the rest of the world as well.) While this may come as news to some, those of us who have come from California and relocated elsewhere have been bearing the brunt of this accusation for years. Even after living in Colorado for twenty years, the mere mention of my previous home is like putting antlers on your head during Elk season. It’s bloodsport and open season on the Californios. 

Saul Bellow once wrote in Seize the Day “Someone had said, and Wilhelm agreed with the saying, that in Los Angeles all the loose objects in the country were collected, as if America had been tilted and everything that wasn’t tightly screwed down had slid into Southern California.”  It’s true that all those drifters, dreamers, and the otherwise-not-pinnned-down, made their way to California only to run into the Pacific and decide that, having burned up their options from East to West, decided that California is where they would stay.

My own clan made their way in a variety of ways to the Golden state. Upon returning from the service in the orient, some decided that it was a more favorable locale than the snows of New England. Another group evacuated the dustbowl and followed the other rusting trucks to the promise of Los Angeles.  Even more recently, newer parts of my family made the decision from the other side of the globe that California would be their target for immigration. It makes for a mix that is unique in the country.

Are Californians responsible for all that is wrong in the world? Probably, but then again, it’s tough to put the top down in Coeur ‘ D aLane! Sing Randy…