Seems it never rains in Southern California…

Ah, yes – a classic ’70’s song, and another legend about La La Land! So far in 2024, any such myth is getting pretty thoroughly debunked. You might tell that by our snarly freeways full of people whose rainy-day driving choices are – um – well, they’re not stellar.

But it’s also clear from the Los Angeles River which – along with the entertainment industry that was dammed up for much of last year – has been churning away again. A good thing too (on both counts!) because we need water in our lives for more than just dewy skin!

And cities as a whole need a solid relationship with water if they’re going to stand the test of time.

The LA River has been a SoCal feature since the days when it supplied water and food to early locals, up through the Mission era, through US statehood, and on to present Hollwood-hood. It has its beginnings in mountains to the north and flows about 50 miles, cutting across the valley and through Downtown on its way to spilling into the sea at Long Beach.

Time-wise, that’s a pretty decent run – but like with most relationships, it’s had its ups and downs. After causing repeated damage by meandering and flooding, the LA River was consigned to a permanent channel starting in 1938. I do appreciate the stark concrete bit that keeps my apartment out of harm’s way – and the Sepulveda Dam section was perfect for the end credits of Buckaroo Banzai! But (and not to be shallow here) I can’t say I find the solution all that river-like or, you know – attractive…

Afraid it took catching an episode of America Outdoors on PBS for me to realize there are many more natural-looking portions of the river where people can still kayak and fish and appreciate the wildlife – so a definite “note to self” there about relationship first impressions!

Anyway, the LA River must have been dependable enough to support the Tongva people who made its banks home back in the day. But centuries later when ambitious souls wanted to turn the area into a metropolis, they stepped outside the local water relationship to make it happen. The Los Angeles Aqueduct was built to divert water from Owens Valley farmland and instead hydrate an increasing population of Angelenos:

Seems I’ve often heard that kinda talk before…

Bringing water to people instead of the reverse isn’t exactly a new idea. The Romans ran with it when they were building an empire – and remnants of their aqueducts remain today to prove it. I have yet to get an in-person view of examples like the three-tiered Pont du Gard in France (which looks incredible in the folks’ travel videos!) – but I’ve had glimpses of impressive surviving sections in other spots:

I was also truly impressed by ruins at the ancient city of Ephesus – a thriving place that fell into decline partly because its bond with water just didn’t go the distance:

It was amazing to pick my way down that cobble-y, tricky Ephesus street while imagining all the swarms of people (with sensible shoes too, I hope) who must have gone about their business along the very same path for centuries before. As I understand though, earthquakes and invasions contributed to the city’s becoming deserted – and so did the silting up of the Cayster (or Kaystros) River that connected Ephesus to the Aegean Sea. I guess this finally left the besieged city “high and dry” – a harbor town without a harbor.

It never rains in California…

Yup. As the hero of that song is disillusioned to discover, even in cities built on sunny dreams, it’s still possible to get bogged down. I found out first-hand that it rains in magical places like Venice, Italy – and that this city’s relationship with water could do with some therapy:

It seems nature is pushing back against changes we’ve made to the landscape and climate there – and if this floating gem is to be preserved, something major might have to be done.

Here at home (where yeah, image counts a little bit), I’ve learned there are functional, ecological – and esthetic – plans under consideration for the LA River as our relationship continues to evolve. Now and then, I enjoy strolling over to check on the river’s current state – to see how much water is flowing and how it’s altered during the local version of seasons. (If I hadn’t known the holidays were over before, the sight of a discarded Christmas tree’s being swept down the middle channel made the surest and saddest of signs…) And I’ll be interested to see what changes are made to the river in my time.

But there’s one place I’ve often mentioned I like to visit where I enjoy a sense not only of my little era, but of the past and future as well. Appropriate that it’s in the English city where Shakespeare lived because this spot feels to me – just as the Bard himself was once described – like not of an age, but for all time:

I’ve been very fortunate to visit London a number of times – and I swear I feel this kind of belonging there that I don’t feel anyplace else. It’s become my ritual to reconnect with the city each time in a couple of ways. I go to St. Paul’s Cathedral – a noble symbol of endurance and faith – and I light candles in memory of departed loved ones. And it doesn’t feel like a proper return until I wander out to the middle of Westminster Bridge and from there (as per Henry V, which was performed right down the way), I “behold the swelling scene”! 

So much grand London history is on display right there, and it’s intoxicating stuff! My first visit predates the nearby London Eye which offers a ferris wheel-y bird’s eye view of the landscape, and which I haven’t been on yet. Being a creature of habit though, I might still favor my perch on Westminster Bridge where the vast River Thames surges past beneath and beside it all:

The buildings and monuments erected along its embanked banks are glorious! But the Thames speaks of even older days by yielding up ancient weapons, tributes and ordinary items which “mudlarks” dig for when the tide is low – proof that the river has meant life there for centuries. And I love claiming for myself one tiny, tiny moment at this place where all time past, time present and time future mightily converge, mingle and then continue on.

My last time visiting London and the Thames was 2011 – and I see in a 2015 post, I wondered whether I’d get to go back yet again. I’m greedy, I know, but this may be the year! For sure, water is life – and for me, when I get to stand there above the Thames, it feels like life at the full!

But girl, don’t they warn ya…

So bottom line – it rains in Southern California. Every once in a while as the song’s refrain owns, it even pours. Man, it pours! As a result – like the fame and fortune the singer sought – there’s a river running through my home (well fingers crossed not, like, through it through it – just bear with me, I’m trying to be deep), and it can flow right within reach one day and be all but gone the next:

Our human affair with water can be a turbulent one full of conflict and compromise – but one with plenty of grace and beauty too. And even though we change each other as well as ourselves, it’s a relationship we certainly need to make work – 

And one I aim not to take for granted!

Cheers!