Fire and Heat in Postcards 4

2014 fire; Copyright CBS News.

Tuesday: I didn’t handle the volunteer at all well; never a manager will I make. Still, he priced books and saved me time and energy. I hugged him. Life moves on. Fires: Our north County has a vicious fire creeping down canyons and very near houses. Fire departments from all over the state are arriving, and I am sure they will get it under control fast. Unlike our last big fire, this time the various emergency entities were able to communicate with each other. Dinner out: Phil’s BBQ. I had 4 tiny Baby Back ribs and 2 salads. I had moon pie and can’t have it again as I reacted badly in two ways. Perhaps it is the guilt that’s the worst. George says that if John Malcovitch found it in a drawer 20 years later, it would still be good.

Wednesday: Heat, and more heat here at the beach. 104 at the store yesterday, 67 when we got up this morning. 79 when I got out of the pool. I didn’t do the hot tub. That seemed to be encouraging insanity.

Afternoon: Fires now seem to ring north county. From Fallbrook in the far north, to Carlsbad where G’s offices have been evacuated, thru Escondido where my eldest lives, to the fancy homes in Rancho Santa Fe and Fairbanks ranch, homes are burning and evacuations increase. I watched the news in bits as I posted the Shop Facebook pages. 30 homes burned at 1530.

Thursday: Morning…..nine fires burn now. Bobbie asked me cynically if the fire departments talked to each other. I told her that down here things had changed. Everyone communicated. Bonsall Fire works with Cal Fire with San Marcos fire ad infinitum. 30 homes burned in one of the fires. That sounds like few until you realize that there’s only one or two of these giant homes per hill top. Businesses burned. Many places don’t have a defensible space cleared around them. They preferred beauty, and I understand that the naked dirt is ugly. I’m going to go swim….gently. Maybe the smoke that sits on my chest like a golum will lift a litte.

• Himself: At work at 0600 so he can go to a doctor’s office at two.
• Herself: Spending the day quietly.
• Reading: The new Ruth Reichl. Enjoyed “Delicious.”
• Balance: Breathing.