May is a great month!

May is here!
Weather is finally starting to warm up. It's in the 80s and feels good. Though my preferred temperature range is in the mid 70s.
One of the nice things for Coalinga there is usually a light breeze in the afternoon. Though the breeze can turn into a stiff breeze.
One of the nice things that I have liked about Coalinga is its smallness. People know each other, for the most part are there to help one another and it is a religious community. Among the churches that I can think of off the top of my head are: Catholic, Mormon, Baptist, Episcopalian, Adventist, Jehovah Witnesses, Pentecostal, Assemblies of God...
Is Coalinga perfect? No, not really. But we don't have police helicopters circling over head all night long...we have gang activity, though mostly young kids.
People complain about the gangs and graffiti, the lack of police protection (they are not pro-active but rather re-active); our local hospital which most of us would rather avoid and go 45 miles to a better equipped hospital; of course our local politicians; the schools; the roads and of course the weather.
We are just like any other small/rural community, worse than some but better than a lot more.
This of course is one man's opinion. It is what I hear when at the local restaurants, at the store, or when I am driving a bus for a field trip with some teachers that I happen to know.
Mostly, I like Coalinga. I've always wanted to live in a small town. I don't mind traveling 45 minutes to an hour to go to a nice store, a large movie theater with a nice surround sound system, a large shopping mall, or someplace different to dine at.
Some people come to Coalinga and find it too rural. They want or need shopping malls. They want a larger school district with more money to spend on facilities, sports, music, the arts, and academia.
They feel isolated. And yes...we are isolated. We are 15 miles West of Interstate 5, half way between Los Angeles and Sacramento. We are 70 miles South West of Fresno, and 75 miles West of Visalia. We are surrounded by Pacific Coast Mountain Range on the West, Oil Fields and agriculture.
House wives and others are constantly having to dust. It is never ending. You dust the furniture, put things away, turn around and dust is already settling on the coffee table.
But those of us who stay here. Love it.
Till next time.