[Julie Steiner]

I sent this in for 2009's "write an anthem for your county" comp, but I doubt it would do any better this time around.


Oh, the rare Torrey pines! Oh, the tourmaline mines!
The artillery booms and the fighter jet whines!
Oh, the tourist attractions’ incredible lines!
San Diego’s the county you'll know by these signs.

Oh, the cool ocean breeze! Oh, the purple-bloomed trees—
jacarandas—whose nectar attracts killer bees!
Oh, the swine flu! The bird flu! West Nile! Lyme disease!
San Diego’s the county that’s blessed with all these.

Oh, the palms’ lovely sway! Oh, June Gloom and May Gray!
Awesome winds blowing annual wildfires my way!
Oh, the real estate "bottom" proclaimed every day!
San Diego’s my county, and here I must stay.


(All this and four species of rattlesnake, too. Paradise!)