CORONA DEL MAR TODAY

An Autumn Leaves Experience

It’s a myth that we in SoCal do not experience seasons. Of course we do. We even get changing leaves. Just drive along San Miguel Drive, past the Port Streets. The trees are lovely colors. Last weekend, I actually saw a family with their toddler in the median, letting the baby play with the leaves on the ground. Something tells me the family came from back East and felt a little nostalgic.

However, I recently was back in my hometown of St. Louis, and let me tell you — those are some leaves. My daughter, 7, felt the urge to rake. She worked for hours, even collected 11 large bags. And I bet she cleaned about a three-foot-square patch. During our visit, the leaf blowing guy came and spent hours collecting the leaves, and grinding them up, and disposing of them. In some areas, families just blow the leaves to the street, and special city crews come by to collect them. In other areas, the bags require stickers that cost money — a leaf collection tax.

I mentioned that Newport Beach is considering a leaf blower ban, and everyone there looked appalled.

I’m glad my daughter got to have this pure autumn experience. But I was glad to get back home, where there is no snow expected any time soon.