That's Not How We Do It In California

More to add to the list of the weird... Though I'm only 1,000 miles from home, some days it seems like a million. Other days I wonder if I'm on a different planet. Though I live in a city of 99,00 people, everyone really has a small-town mindset. *One Saturday morning I drove by a radio-sponsored fund-raiser in the form of a firetruck-pull. At that devine moment, it was the ladies' turn, lined up in a virtual tug-of-war with the enormous vehicle. * I've gotten used to the Antelope that spend time in our neighborhood, I enjoy it. But it was a little-close-for-comfort when I was picking up Isaac from school the other day, and the other parents had their eye on a fox. F-O-X. *This isn't necessarily small-town related, but for my LDS friends: on fast Sundays, two Deacons walk through the crowd with microphones for those who don't want to go up to the pulpit. Weird. *I have a new friend who is a long-time home renter (like I used to be). She doesn't want to buy a home here because they are so expensive. Hello! My brand-new house was only $160K. She's from Idaho. *This morning, when I dropped Isaac off at school it looked like we had arrived at Disneyland. There were picket-ers out in front; one in a raccoon costume, one in a chipmunk costume. Their cause? "Critters not concret."