California Climate, Texas Weather

I have been visiting my parents a couple of weeks, and since it is "summer" here in California, I have received a minimum of bed sheets to sleep in, since it is so hot around here. And by the time 2 a.m. rolls around, I'm shivering . . . looking for something to warm me up. I dream of polar bears, penguins, and arctic lights, and wonder why I wake up feeling frosty.

I am quickly discovering that hot is a very relative term. Now that I have lived in Texas for over 4 years and have shed a lot of my Californian mentality about weather, I realize that what is hot for Los Angeles in mid-August is very different than the same term for someone in the Dallas area.

Right now, I have to wear a jacket or at least another shirt if I dare step outside in Los Angeles at night . . . since the nighttime ocean breeze kicking from the Pacific is keeping the Alhambra area in the low 70s with low humidity. If I were back in Corinth, Texas, I'd be running in and out of air conditioned environments because the combination of rain, humidity, and heat would have me boiling over all day and all night long.

California, clearly, has climate. Climate is predictable, stable, and you can actually set your day to it. This is a good thing, as it allows everyone to roll down their windows, go for those great jogs, and look fit, tanned, and great . . . while the rest, the less fortunate, experience weather. You can wear short all day, and pack a sweatshirt in your car, because you know that you will need it around 8 p.m.

Texas, on the other hand, has weather. During summer, for example, one can easily expect a hot, dry day turn into a hot, stormy morning, capping off with a humid and oppressive evening, with rocking thunderstorms at night. Your attire should be light and airy, to help you withstand the humid heat, and your car should be packed with a rain jacket, an umbrella, and a towel -- and just in case, you should also park in a structure or in your garage, because it might hail!

It's all a matter of perspective.