Why We Remember Floods and Forget Droughts

When I moved to the San Francisco Bay Area 10 years ago, I bought a pair of rain boots. I’ve worn them once. The region is currently in what the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration calls a “severe drought.” During the past decade, California has experienced two periods of “exceptional drought,” the agency’s highest drought ranking. The effects of such conditions are visibly apocalyptic: piebald street trees, empty orchards, horizontal stripes etched on the shoreline of lakes and reservoirs. Hillsides of flame-orange pine trees killed by beetle infestations foretell long and intense fire seasons.

I did discover high water at a local flea market, though. Sifting through a box of old photos recently, I turned over an to find three women in a rowboat, wearing long dresses and neat updos. They