

the battle cry of the west to begin: i am a girl living in a suburb not far from los angeles. in the few burgeoning weeks of this year california has its retribution for a few years of drought; pouring rain, coming down in buckets, enough to make newscasts for ages about near-drownings in the l.a. basin and trailer homes succumbing to the natural disaster of rain. at 5 pm the people rush to their houses and breathe stale air, grumble about the weather, stretch their salaries for pennies on the dollar, look for happiness. or don't. they pull no punches, save no face, wear drab clothes and smile toothless smiles at one another. i am luckier, and by the grace of good reasthe battle cry of the west by ~jenballera