1. I have to leave 15 minutes earlier to go anywhere — not because the traffic is so heavy, but because I know that I will be stuck in the fast lane behind lots of big cars filled with people pointing at palm trees.

2. I have to allow 15 extra minutes at the bank, the post office, the cleaners or just about anywhere you can count on going in the summer if you want to be alone.

3. I can never expect to walk into any of my favorite restaurants at any hour expecting to eat anytime soon.

4. Communing with nature is never the same. Just when you think you hear the sound of a an animal in the distance, you encounter groups of humans wearing loud T-shirts proclaiming, “Would ya look at that? We don't see them at home, eh??"

5. Praying that I don't get sick and have to sit in the doctor's office for an hour next to a dozen Canadians telling me how happy they are that it doesn't cost them a dime.

6. Wondering why suddenly, after shopping at the same store for 25 years, I become totally unrecognizable in a blur of new faces.

7. Having to make a valiant attempt at maneuvering the aisles at Trader Joe's while small groups catch up on the latest news from the Great White North.

8. Getting a daily chuckle out of the so-called “desert attire” that people are compelled to wear, reminiscent of Florida or Hawaii.

9. Being reminded every day about the struggling economy, while watching people in their Lexus or Rolls fight for a space in the Costco parking lot.

10. And finally, every day the snowbirds make me appreciate the miserable summers even more.

K. B. Coleman
Palm Springs