Check Out the Retirement Town : SANDSTORMS !

I speak EFL (English as a First Language), but every now and again I return to my roots and crack open the dictionary to make sure I'm using the word correctly.
sandstorm [sand-stawrm]
Meteorology.

an occurrence of strong winds, especially in a desert, that pick up and carry sand, as from dunes, and typically move along in a series of leaps, effecting the process of saltation.

This weekend had been planned for quite some time. It was an extended weekend (I added Friday to the time off) and I headed for the Palm Springs area. There was no special event in mind. It was just a good old fashioned me-time experience; no friends, no lover, no search for mystery or intrigue. I booked my stay at a Motel 6 off the freeway and contacted a big-a** spa for two treatments. I got a deep tissue massage that was followed by a gentleman's facial. And let me tell you... "MONEY WELL-SPENT !"

It seems at times like a luxurious frivolity. Spending money to have someone rub your back? Spending money to have someone apply cream, oil, and a cold spritz of something to your face? And all the while you are listening to soft sounds that evoke images of gentle wind chimes or chirping birds of the Andes!

It's more than that. It involves trust. That's something I don't have a lot of and it's not something that I generally relinquish to a stranger. I'm pretty much blindfolded while another person bends my limbs or forces his body weight to my sternocleidomastoid region.




It sort of puts me in the mind of what it must feel like when Mr Spock approaches you from behind as he touches your neck anteriorly with his four fingers and posteriorly with his thumb. Oh, what the heck, let's call it his pollex since we're throwing around words from the old anatomy textbook!

I moved to the Golden State in 1985 just three months short of my 26th birthday. I've never left. This year marks my 40th anniversary here. At times I feel as if I am almost native, but I never actually ever claim the title. I've seen things come and go and I have certainly seen more of this state than I have of any other. I've driven up and down the coast as well as up and down the center of the state. I've crossed state lines into Baja California, into Arizona, into Nevada, and into Oregon.

I have visited tropical places as well as arid ones. Each has its pluses and minuses. The tropics usually come with feral chickens and lizards that grow to large sizes. Some spots have reptiles that grow mighty big as well. The desert has snakes, trees that seem to survive with minimal water, and lots of 'soil' that I wouldn't pack up to bring back home with me. In fact, the only time I ever knew of anyone who grabbed dirt from the desert to bring it home was someone who had gone to Israel.

On my way back to the Motel 6 from dinner at a downtown deli, I came in contact with a sandstorm. I hadn't been in one since my first cross country trip that included a drive through Arizona. I don't much mind wind storms because they almost look pretty when trees sway with the forces of the air. But sand in the air is quite another matter. Imagine having to throw rice at newlyweds as they go from the house of worship to their car. And then imagine you are angry at one or both of them, but you can't express yourself. So instead, you toss the rice with the force of Aroldis Chapman's (the Cuban Missile) pitched fastball against the San Diego Padres in September, 2010.

So what's up with all of this? I'm at a time in my life when I'm thinking of places to spend the golden years. Many folks rave about Palm Springs. To me it is a hot and dry place (the temperatures reached 122ºF this weekend). While a person could certainly do some level of gardening, I imagine that the water bill would probably go through the roof. I'm sure airfares in and out are also probably astronomical (no pun intended). Truth be told... I love my urban lifestyle. I look at other places, but when I see something that just doesn't seem to fit my paradigm of normalcy, I generally shut down. I think Palm Springs is one such place.