Comparatively, It Was Balmy

It didn’t rain on our parade, but a light drizzle fell later during the Rose Bowl game, to the dismay of thousands of Midwestern snowbirds in the stands. The Ohioans came to California for a football victory, which they got, and a warm, sunny day, which they didn’t.

For five decades, Pasadena’s parade and football classic have beckoned Midwesterners from the frigid environs of the Big 10 colleges. A football trip to Southern California may provide these weather refugees with their only sustained sunshine in a siege of Midwestern winter devoid of palm trees and beach days.

Southern California’s festivities are telecast nationwide, usually in postcard-perfect morning sunshine that is worth untold bucks to the tourist and convention bureaus of Los Angeles and neighboring counties.

Not this year, not quite. The light rain, dense fog and cooler temperatures put a damper--or at least a jacket--on all but the heartiest Buckeye fans, those who greeted the gloomy drizzle in shorts and T-shirts since, what the heck, this was still a far piece from the arctic blasts they left at home. And the Pasadena weather sure wasn’t the heavy downpours and flooding that have plagued the Northwest and Northern California this winter.

The pictures of our fellow Californians awash in swollen rivers put our New Year’s Day droplets into perspective. Besides, the light rains will help give us a wildflower season of gorgeous colors when our steady, dependable sun returns. We’re still counting our blessings.