by Timothy Rutt
OK, we love your suggestions about naming the big windstorm of 2011, but we think they all fall a little short.
We don't want to necessarily pin it to Altadena, as it was a regional disaster, and if we can avoid the blame, let's do it. Besides, Pasadena, Temple City, Arcadia, and many other communities suffered as well. "The Edison Windstorm" has a certain, um, stickyness to it -- we'll certainly never forget the association -- but that's not quite it, either. Variations on "Blow," while viscerally satisfying, will make it hard to avoid an off-color headline, and we want to keep things a little more elevated around here.
So we were thinking of melding a couple of concepts. The National Weather Service names its hurricanes after people. The Forest Service names its forest fires after the suspected point of origin (hence, Station Fire, Morris Fire, etc.).
So we were thinking that we give the windstorm a human name that reflects the area it affected. Since we don't feel bound to an alphabetical listing, like the Weather Service, we can name it anything we want.
So here's what we're thinking: Windstorm Gabby.
"Gabby" for two reasons: one, it happened in the San Gabriel Valley, and puts our communities in solidarity. (And we always liked giving hurricanes girl's names). And two, personally, a hat tip to Rep. Gabrielle "Gabby" Giffords of Arizona, whom we admire for her struggle against adversity, an example for us at this time.
So what do you think? Comment away!
