WALKING home in the old days (Shutterstock).

Tuesday’s rain reminded me how far we in West Orange County have come in taming Mother Nature’s moods …. and how far we have to go.

Many Orange County cities developed from towns into incorporated cities so rapidly the demands of establishing police, fire and school services far outpaced consideration of keeping us above water, literally.

Storm drains were unheard of. Flooding was just a way of life, like snow in Minnesota or murder in Chicago.
A visitor to the City of Youth and Ambition once described it this way: “Garden Grove: A swamp with lights.”

Ninth Street was especially notorious as being nearly impassable unless you had a boat or were Aquaman.

But we’re not just talking history here. Pacific Coast Highway in Huntington Beach still floods in sections, especially around Seacliff.

If you want to get your fenders power-washed in Garden Grove now, just drive through the intersection of Gilbert Street at Chapman Avenue during some inclement weather.

In downtown the stretch of Main Street between Garden Grove Boulevard and Acacia Parkway the pavement – brick-stamped concrete – is concave, which means it gathers water rather than sheds it to the curb, which sort of makes sense because there not much in the way of curbs there.

Ah, but we are spoiled here. In Duluth it snows from October to April and in Tampa Bay every year there are almost as many hurricanes as Buccaneer games.

It was all kind of fun. I just wish I had remembered where I’d put those umbrellas…