The Santa Ana winds are blowing today and the high temperatures are in the nineties. Times like this always make me think of Raymond Chandler.
“There was a desert wind blowing that night. It was one of
those hot dry Santa Anas that come down through the mountain passes and curl
your hair and make your nerves jump and your skin itch. On nights like that
every booze party ends in a fight. Meek little wives feel the edge of the
carving knife and study their husbands' necks. Anything can happen. You can
even get a full glass of beer at a cocktail lounge.”
― Raymond Chandler, Red
Wind: A Collection of Short Stories
One of my novellas, Dead in L.A. features the Santa Anas. In the book they increase Leander's psychic abilities.
I grew up in southern California, and I hated the Santa Anas more than just about anything. The Santa Anas dropped my moods into the deepest hole I could ever find. They also made my skin feel like a potato chip. I'm not sure if there is such a thing as negative nostalgia, but if there is, the Santa Ana sure makes me feel it.
ReplyDeleteHehe, negative nostalgia. Strangely, Santa Anas don't seem to depress me, and I perversely enjoy dry heat. However, I've been waking up far too early the last couple of days.
DeleteI think it hit 37F here today. It's been alternately raining, sleeting, and snowing.
ReplyDeleteOuch. I wish I could send some hot wind in your way. There's reason I moved out of the midwest. Spring and Fall are nice, but snow loses its novelty after a couple of weeks. Sleet, slush, frozen slush, freezing rain, etc.--I don't miss them. In St. Louis even the summers were miserable with the humidity. The only thing I miss are the big summer thunderstorms--thunder and lightning, the big downpour and how it smells.
DeleteWe've already had a big thunderstorm. And St Louis has already been menaced by nearby tornadoes. Ugh.
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