Ted's Polish-Mexican Page

Yep, it worked. We did our Día de San Juan on Tuesday, and what happens on Thursday? Monsoon!

We got lots of rain on Friday, but yesterday's storm was a disappointment. Yes, yes, lots of wind. But where is the rain? Isn't that the purpose of this whole exercise?

It smelled like rain though...


I called this post "chubasco" in an attempt to bring that word back. You are all entitled to join me in this noble and righteous cause.


The monsoons are one of those things that are part of living in Southern Arizona. They are hard to explain to someone that has never been through them ("It's just rain, right?"). We take the heat because we know the monsoons come with it.

This seems tangential but bear with me. My friend Laura and I were at the gym this week and we overheard a woman complaining to her friends that the coyotes are threatening her cats and wrecking her garden. She even called some county agency and they "wouldn't do anything about it." To anyone with an ounce of sense, this is perfectly reasonable. You might as well call the sheriff to ask that he turn down the heat.

Until recently, people that would move out here would have to make some accomodation with the desert. Even the folks who came out here to exploit the land and its people had to make some accomodation (ever see those pictures of conquistadores tromping across the desert with those fancy Dutch helmets? I've had more than one historian tell me that they didn't actually wear those out here.) Nowadays, people bring their entire past life here, and they actually expect that this place will change to meet their needs. This place has been here for a long time, and thank God, will outlast them and their messed up attitudes.

And luckilly, they can't do anything about the monsoon.


Word of advice to that woman and those like her: I like cats, but if you live on the edge of town, those are going to be indoor cats. Outdoor cats fare better in the city, believe me.


Hasta la proxima. Do zobaczenia.