the air quality in southern california for the past week has been worse than usual. it is of course due to the terrible fires going on in our area. the strong winds that fueled the fires have stopped, but with no wind to blow the smoke and ash away, it has settled in the valleys. everything has a fine layer of white ash. the air smells like smoke. during sunset, the sun literally turns red.
could you imagine losing your home in a fire? it's true that homes can be replaced, and that you can always start over again. but how hard would it be to watch your son's bedroom burn down? or the garden where you spent so many hours planting and turning the soil? or all the future plans you had? a few days ago i was watching the news coverage on the san diego fire and there was a newscaster covering the fire in one of the threatened neighborhoods. after a few moments it suddenly occured to me that he was watching his own house burn. he pointed out the diningroom where his family used to sit together, and the bedrooms, and the porch. the whole time he was describing his home, he was being whipped by the wind and his voice was shaking with emotion. what a terrible thing to witness.
it made me look around my apartment and wonder what i would do if i only had five minutes to evauate. there isn't enough time to load all of your dvds or clothes. you can't disconnect your tv or your expensive surround system to take with you. what would i take with me? what makes one thing more important that the other? i pray that i may never have to evacuate, but we never do have any control over things such as this.
1 comment:
you'd of course take all your radiohead albums, joey and i'm assuming pictures.
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