Get The Ink Out:

I am most certainly my father’s daughter. I share his sense of humor and his cooking skills, not to mention he gave me a set of gorgeously long eyelashes.

So it’s no surprise that I pulled a Mary Ann while going to Best Buy to return the first season of “The Big Bang Theory” on Wednesday.

What’s a Mary Ann? Well, Dad was listening to his favorite radio deejay on his way to work. It had rained a lot the night before, and the deejay was warning people that the rain had frozen, so it was best to be Ginger, and maybe even go so far as to be Mary Ann. Dad chuckled at this nice little joke as he got out of his truck and promptly landed on his backside. His only thoughts were, “Boy, he sure did warn me to be Ginger!”

OK, so maybe a Mary Ann would imply being extra careful, which I certainly wasn’t. I was too busy wondering about how unprepared Southern Californians are for the weather, while staring at the girl in front of me who wasn’t wearing anything more on her legs than a pair of tights.

That’s what caused my almost downfall, a downfall that included a set of stairs. I’m OK, just jarred my hip a bit. There’s a lesson to be learned in all this: Wear more clothes!

I also saw two women wearing running shorts Wednesday. Maybe it’s because I’m not very athletic, but unless I were running, I don’t think a pair of shorts is going to protect me from the elements, especially when we’re getting so much rain that the streets are flooding.

Back to my original question. How prepared are we for inclement weather?

Based on my experience trying to get to work Monday, I’d say not very. The intersection at Bear Street and South Coast Drive was so flooded, SUVs were having a hard time getting through.

My little Camry made it, but only because I slowed down so as to not splash water up onto my engine. Three sedans weren’t as lucky.

I know we don’t have such yucky weather all that often, but I hate that we have a reputation as being really bad drivers when it comes to rain, or anything other than sunny skies.

So let’s go over a few not-so-fine weather tips.

 If you don’t need to go out in bad weather, don’t. Stay home and enjoy the sound of the rain hitting your window with a nice cup of tea.

 If you do go out, dress appropriately. My mom likes to remind us about the girl who wore nothing but a pair of short shorts, a thin top and cowboy boots while driving in a snowstorm. She got stuck and decided to walk for help. She never made it.

 While driving in bad weather, it’s OK to go slower than you normally would. Wet roads are slippery early in the storm because of the oil on the road floating to the top. I have no idea how long the slick lasts, but it’s better to be safe.

Here’s to staying warm until the storm subsides. And here’s to me making it back to Bishop without any flash floods in Red Rock Canyon this weekend for a family visit.

JAMIE ROWE is a copy editor for the Daily Pilot. She may be reached at (714) 966-4634 or jamie.rowe@latimes.com. Squee is worried he may be replaced by a 2-pound Pomeranian named New Deal Teddy Ruxpin.