Some stereotypes are almost true -- smog, fires, cars and freeways, earthquakes, and entertainers. But there hasn't been a big riot in a while, though, OJ is over, and I haven't been shot driving on the freeway yet either. LA is a large city of contrasts with much social and ethnic/racial diversity.

For me, the climate is perhaps the most unusual thing -- being the northern midwesterner that I am. This is a place where it barely rains in the summer; cloudy days are rare; thunderstorms are almost non-existent, and one can be standing in warmth and sunshine in December. You can get soft and become a "weather wimp" living here, but I'm not complaining. To my friends back in Cleveland, please think of me when cold arctic air from Canada blows, and thermometer drops to sub-zero degrees F. I'll certainly think of going ice skating then.