The first year I lived in Northern California it rained all winter and far into spring. I was a young mother in a new neighborhood. The neighbors were nice enough but I had little in common with them. The rain often came down in torrents, turning the road in front of the house into a river. I prayed for the rain to go away but it just kept falling. Gradually the sun came out and I ventured from the house, met like-minded people and went back to school. But I can still remember those long and lonely days of April.

Decades later … it’s early April with only the possibility of light rain showers in the future. We need rain. However, given the fact that fire season will soon be upon us, it’s silly to stay inside when the air is clean and pure.

When I lived in Europe (1970), Johnny Hallyday was a like a god to the French. You couldn’t go anywhere without seeing his face on a magazine cover or hearing one of his songs being played. But I knew nothing about the man himself.

So the other day while waiting for the AAA guy (gremlins broke into my car while I was sleeping, turned on the overhead light and played cards, or some such nonsense, and completely ran down the battery!) I watched the Netlix series on him. Holy Cow, if you want to know what it’s like to spend most of your life being treated like a god, every personal moment photographed and talked about, watch this series. Ugh. It was such a grim slog through countless interviews with an obviously troubled soul that I almost gave up. But I’m glad I watched to the end because, finally, finally, he did start to feel comfortable in his own skin.

April 15th: I’m happy to report that we did get rain with more on the way. But I’m a long way from ever praying for the sun again.