“No person has the right to rain on your dreams.”
~ Martin Luther King Jr.

The Santa Ana winds have dominated the weather picture for the past week with clear skies and low humidity. The first long weekend of 2014 – the birthday of Martin Luther King Jr. – begins Saturday. If present conditions remain intact, mass confusion may occur as to what to expect. Why? Because, usually beach trips and barbecues are more descriptive of Memorial Day weekend than Martin Luther King Jr. Day! But this year’s long winter  weekend could easily accommodate such activities. According to the National Weather Service, “… there is no chance of precipitation during the entire forecast period.” No winter storm advisories, only above normal temperatures, winds and Red Flag Warnings for January 2014. With these in mind, one can easily recreate the atmosphere (add humidity) of a certain summer day 51 years ago in Washington, DC.

“I have a dream…” One of America’s most famous speeches took place on Aug. 28, 1963.

In 2013, Clarence Jones, MLK’s lawyer, speechwriter and confidant, added the following memories of that day: “He [MLK] moves the text of the speech to the left side of the lectern, graps the lectern, looks out on those more than 250,000 people assembled and thereafter begins to speak completely spontaneously and extemporaneously.”

With the (written) words of Jones set aside, Rev. King’s cadence changed as sentences and ideas built, reaching powerful crescendos. In conclusion, Clarence Jones believes a number of conditions made that day a historical moment: the beautiful weather, the location at the foot of the Lincoln Monument and the centennial anniversary of the 1863 Emancipation Proclamation. Yes, the beautiful weather played a part in history!

Honestly, I have felt a little guilty about our current weather. At this very moment – Tuesday night at 10 – it is a mild 74 degrees. The wind chimes (set to the tones of “Amazing Grace”) are tingling with the breeze while a full moon rises in the eastern sky. Tomorrow? Well, as the song goes, “Just another day in paradise.” And the forecast calls for more of the same into next week. Overall temperatures remain well above normal, with highs around 80 and lows in the upper 40s.

We can’t control the weather – the drought in the west and the snowstorms in the east. So let’s just embrace what comes our way.

Sue Kilpatrick is a
Crescenta Valley resident and
Official Skywarn Spotter for the
National Weather Service. Reach her at  suelkilpatrick@gmail.com.

  Sue Kilpatrick