When the sun cries for lack of warmth, yielding to cold, persistent rain, turning the blue water dark and tempestuous, Lagunans get cranky.
A shower is one thing, a week-long deluge is another.
Setting aside the flooding, landslides and SoCal drivers, more important is the impact to Laguna Beach serenity.
OK, maybe not quite as important but still.
We’re not alone. The first day after a winter storm, even as a glimmer of sun starts to warm the ocean like a pilot light, people flock to Laguna. Heisler Park fills up first. Families couped up with youngins let them run around in circles, burning limitless pent-up energy.
Down at the water, people forage the tidepools like they’re looking for food.
For locals, it’s a bit different but not by much. We will stop to embrace the sun as well from decks or rooftops. If our routine is to walk on the beach, we will inspect as we go, looking at the new plastic debris and wonder if it will ever end.
On our way to lunch or the store, we may impulsively pull over at an overlook to reconnect, take in the salt, and admire how quickly the ocean recovers as it turns into an edible pool of teal, nourished by kelp, sprinkled by bioluminescence.
The storms disrupt, then cleanse, then heal.
They reset our point of view, reminding us that Laguna is not ours to control. We only inhabit.
And as the storms grow in strength, which appears likely, our gratitude will grow as well.
