The Santa Ana winds are blowing hard across Southern California. For those who live elsewhere, these are winds created by high pressure systems over Utah that push with great force the desert winds to the sea. The dry air is filled with negative ions, which legend has it drive some people crazy. Who wrote this classic passage about the Santa Anas?
There was a desert wind blowing that night. It was one of those hot dry Santa Anas that come down through the mountain passes and curl your hair and make your nerves jump and your skin itch. On nights like that every booze party ends in a fight. Meek little wives feel the edge of the carving knife and study their husbands’ necks. Anything can happen. You can even get a full glass of beer at a cocktail lounge.
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4 responses so far ↓
1 Tim Stroud // Jan 10, 2009 at 4:50 pm
cool…
Feels like I’ve been there, years ago, but one Summer that cocktail lounge burned down and the winds blew the embers into the sea.
Now, before our bonfire goes out, pop open a cold one and tell me that none of it was real.
Here where I live there is a major street named Ray and the next major street south of it is named Chandler and I have no idea if the street namers knew what they were (close to) doing..
2 Jenny // Jan 10, 2009 at 8:50 pm
Boy, if Tim S. is right already I am WAY impressed!
3 smcauley // Jan 14, 2009 at 3:23 pm
It’s Raymond Chandler. See link below for Google Books result; it’s in a collection of short stories entitled RED WIND (Published by The World Publishing Company, 1946; 253 pages).
cheers//Scott
see http://books.google.com/books?id=rxIfAAAAIAAJ&q=%22Meek+little+wives+feel+the+edge+of+the+carving+knife+and+study+their+husbands%E2%80%99+necks%22+intitle:Red+intitle:Wind+inauthor:Raymond+inauthor:Chandler&dq=%22Meek+little+wives+feel+the+edge+of+the+carving+knife+and+study+their+husbands%E2%80%99+necks%22+intitle:Red+intitle:Wind+inauthor:Raymond+inauthor:Chandler&lr=&as_brr=0&as_pt=ALLTYPES&ei=TZBtSaHwEYrUkwSFtrjYCA&pgis=1
4 irontrimama // Jan 14, 2009 at 7:47 pm
my first thought was Steinbeck…love him
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