Some Like it Hot
Sunday, Feb.23, 2025
Indian Wells, Calif.
Palm Springs is called the Mecca of Modernism, the centerpiece of a sprawling 9-city resort area filled with mid-century modern architecture and mod 1960’s cool vibe. Numerous home decor, art galleries and chic clothing stores abound as well as outdoor art festivals require us to keep the credit cards at hand. It’s a legendary place with a fascinating history on a scorching stretch of desert nestled along the San Bernardino Mountains and the renown geological San Andreas Fault visible from Interstate Highway 10. Native indians first inhabited the area, and the Agua Caliente reservation includes parts of Palm Springs, Cathedral City and Rancho Mirage.
The Rat Pack was a term for a gang of musicians and actors famous in the late 1950’s and 60’s, with crooner Frank Sinatra known as the “Chairman of the Board”, and “Old Blue Eyes”. The clan included Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr., Joey Bishop and Peter Lawford. Actresses Marilyn Monroe, Angie Dickerson and Shirley MacLaine were referred to as the glamours Rat Pack Mascots. Lawford was brother-in-law to President John Kennnedy, who frequented Palm Springs social scene, and the group became known as the Jack Pack as the celebrities campaigned for JFK. Stories abound and one can imagine the salacious mysteries and assignations and curious connections to the mafia and the Democratic Party.
Today, tourists flock to ogle a humoungous 26-foot statue of Marilyn Monroe and tours of the mid-modern houses and celebrity estates. Streets are named for Bob Hope, Gerald Ford and Gene Autry.
“Some Like it Hot” was a 1959 movie that is considered one of the greatest films of all time and in 1989 was selected as one of the first films for preservation in the US National Film Registry by the Library of Congress.
We’ve relished the sunny skies, swimming pool, blooming flowers and palm trees, ripe citrus hanging from the tree, a little shopping and walking to burn off a few calories. Robin and Steve Wise play golf with friends who come here to escape winter, like us! There are 124 courses in the Coachella Valley, said to be the greatest concentration of golf courses in the world.
