Image Up Advertising & Design

SOLERA DIAMOND VALLEY | JANUARY 2017 3 SOLERA DIAMOND VALLEY COMMUNITY ASSOCIATION Greg Rainier, General Manager 951.652.5766, Ext. 224 • greg.rainier@associa.us Lifestyle Director, Richard Booth 951.652.5766, Ext. 223 • richard.booth@associa.us Diana Floyd, Executive Assistant 951.652.5766, Ext. 222 • diana.floyd@associa.us Gabriel Stearns, Facility Maintenance Coordinator Steve Trevino, Luis Lara, Sunshine Baker Facility Monitors Christina Juelch, Receptionist COMMUNITY WEBSITE www.soleradiamondvalley.com PULTE WARRANTY SERVICE socalservice@pulte.com • 949.255.1650 PCM BILLING INQUIRIES 800.808.4882 GUARD SYSTEMS INC. On-Site Community Patrol 951.388.4049 • (800) 606.6711 (secondary) BOARD OF DIRECTORS Brian Rubin, President 951.925.3918, brian.rubin@1694vsh.com Lorraine Brealey, Vice-President 951.658.1781, lbrealey.board@gmail.com Tom Carpenter, Secretary 951.663.4432, tommydcarpenter@hotmail.com Larry Braidic, Treasurer 951.392.3451, sdvboard.larry.braidic@gmail.com Leeanne Brock, Member-at-Large 760.772.5400, leeanne.brock@pultegroup.com HOURS OF OPERATION MOUNTAIN VIEW LODGE 1645 Paseo Diamante, Hemet, CA 92545 Lodge Hours: Sun.: 7 am - 8 pm; Mon. - Sat.: 7 am - 9 pm Pool Hours: Sun.: 7 am - 8 pm; Mon. - Sat.: 7 am - 9 pm PUBLICATION EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Richard Booth COMMUNICATIONS COMMITTEE Alan Siegel, Chairperson Theresa Rossetti, Secretary Dick Roppe, Berkie Harris, Andrea Jeric PRODUCTION Image Up Advertising & Design and Kevin Walker, Arrow Printing ARTICLE SUBMISSIONS All submissions must be emailed to sdv@associa.us no later than the 10th of the month. Articles should not exceed 500 words, 250 words for club news and 100 words for groups. The View is published monthly by the Solera Diamond Valley Community Association (SDVCA). This publication is copyrighted and may not be reproduced or reprinted without the written permission of SDVCA. Advertising inquiries, Stacey Parr (909) 435-5042 or email staceyimageup@yahoo.com. The View Magazine SOLERA DIAMOND VALLEY By Alan Siegel, Resident I'm not exactly sure which of the seven deadly sins it is, but it must be one of them. And I commit it each and every New Year's Day. I wish and hope for a spectacularly beautiful day for the Rose Parade. I wish for a beautiful day for only one reason: To make the rest of the country envious. Is that so wrong? It's just a chance for me to say to everyone who knows me and knows that I live in California, "Hey, I guess I'm not so stupid after all!" The rest of the country regularly disparages us. They refer to us as "La La Land." They call Governor Brown, Governor "Moonbeam." They think California is the land of surfing and skateboarding weirdos. Hippies. Patty Hurst. The Symbionese Liberation Army (remember them?). Well, who's watching the Rose Parade in their Snuggies, huddled around an electric heater, wondering if they'll be able to get their car out of the driveway? Not us! I have to admit, that when I first came out west from the northeast, I thought that I would have had more in common with space aliens than I had with Californians. I was from Boston by way of Washington D.C. out of New York. It was like I had landed on another planet. First, I didn't know that California was in a desert. (I missed a lot of school as a kid due to truancy). As I drove through New Mexico, Arizona and crossing the Colorado River, I kept wondering, does this never-ending dirt scrub ever end? I was also wondering what the enormous piles of dirt were all about. I later learned they were what they call out west, mountains. Where I came from, mountains had trees, forests, rivers, lakes, and streams. Those kinds of things, non-deserty things. I was a stranger in a strange land. The first winter I was here, some 40 odd years ago, (and some have been very odd) we were in another drought and Jerry Brown was our Governor. Some things never change. We were encouraged to put a brick in our toilet tanks and shower with a friend. And people were discouraged from hosing off their driveways and storefronts. I'd never seen people hose off their driveways or storefronts before. Where I came from, we used a broom for that kind of task. It was inconceivable to me that during a drought in the desert, people would continue to hose off their driveways and storefronts. Had they never seen a broom? Did they not know what it was for? We used them all the time for debris removal and clean up back east. We even swept water with brooms. We swept carpets with brooms. Everybody had brooms, lots of brooms. In southern California, not so much. Hoses. But I have become a Californian. I eat avocados. I eat salads. I don't jaywalk. I have hoses. I've learned to love our dirt pile mountains. So, as a Californian, I'd just like to say to everyone who's suffering through a miserable winter, eat your hearts out! Does that make me a bad person? January: My Favorite Month

• Cover