I am sitting in my little writing room listening to Gregorian chants. The heater is on and it’s warm and cozy. Outside, I can hear the wind starting to blow. Southern California has had very strong winds over the past few nights. They are revving back up tonight.
I love a good strong wind. Not all the time but often enough to remind me that there are many natural forces out there in the world that are greater than whatever minor problem I might be facing in my life. I love hearing the wind in the trees, its whistle as it navigates our steep-roofed Victorian, or the way it causes our wind chimes to shiver and shake in our orange trees. I love walking against a good strong wind, leaning into it, feeling its resistance. I like that I have to fight it to go in the direction I want to go or I might instead be pushed by it if I decide to turn and go with it instead of against it. I love the freshness that most wind brings, unless, of course, it has created a dust storm.
I looked up what causes wind and learned that it is the result of the uneven heating of the earth’s surface by the sun. Also, much to my surprise, Amarillo, Texas was named the windiest city in the United States due to its location on the Southwestern Great Plains, where there is instability of air pressure and lots of flat, dry land so the winds can pick up speed. Who knew? My native Texas boasts five of the top ten windiest cities: Amarillo at #1, Lubbock at #3, Corpus Christi at #4, Wichita Falls at #8, and Abilene at #10. Our home in North Central Texas is only two hours from Wichita Falls and we often get a lot of strong wind up in Sherman. Yes, and I love it.
Ironically, Los Angeles is listed as #1 of the least windy cities in the U.S. That may be why I love the wind so much. Apparently, over the past 29 years, it’s been a fairly rare phenomenon for me. But tonight I am up in Ojai and the wind is full of mischief. I’ll hear those wind chimes jangling in our orange trees tonight for sure, and, yes, I will love it.
20 Minutes a Day 
Len, you should visit Chicago on a wintry day. they don’t call it The Windy City for nothing–I used to love the wind blowing off Lake Michigan. It brought the smell of the lake with it. And then, of course, there’s Dorothy Scarborough’s classic novel.
Yes, I assumed Chicago would be number one on the list because of its “Windy City” moniker. Alas, little Amarillo claimed the prize. But in either place, I suspect there’s a serious bite to that wind in winter.
Just read about Dorothy Scarborough’s novel. Yikes. Yes, I suppose the wind could drive you insane in a lonely Texas town in the late 1800s.
Things we have in common.
I used to live in the Los Angeles area for 30 years. I also was raised in Arizona. I am no stranger to wind. My fear of wind became acute while living in Santa Clarita. It brought fire. Even as I write this my body is experiencing that fear. Since moving to Austin my fear of the wind has lessened. Right outside my bedroom window is a massive magnolia tree. It belongs to my neighbors. I love this tree. Not too long ago I actually wrote a story about it. When it is storming at night I go to sleep with the sound of the wind going through the magnolia tree. How things have changed.
Thanks for writing, Carolyn. Yes, we do have things in common! Yes, the wind can bring fire. I understand that. I have experienced that fear. Right now, we’ve had rain so the wind is a friend, but I get it. That magnolia sounds lovely.