Smoke From a Not So Distant Fire

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yellowstone_fires_of_1988 Old Fire. Image labeled for re-use

 Where I live here is So Cal the skies are full of smoke from a not too distant fire.  And we are not alone.  The hills are burning.  And along with it, homes, buildings, vehicles, animals wild and domestic, and, yes, people; people who couldn't escape in time, people fighting the flames and people who were just in the wrong place at the wrong time.

From one end of the state to the other, and all across the western United States, fires are wiping out that which sustains us.   The forest, the flora and the fauna, all disappearing into an atomic shaped cloud.  

There is no rhyme or reason to this.  Some try to explain it as God's wrath from the sins of humankind.  Others see it as retribution for policies that block uncontrolled growth and the permanent loss of virgin wilderness.  Is that what we should have done?  Sacrificed the virgin?

I don't think there is any merit in affixing blame to any one source.  This is the culmination of years of bickering and the continued emergence of polarization.  We don't hear each other any more.  We don't seem to be able to work together to find the way forward...that is a way forward to save our planet and save ourselves.  It seems we are just gonna burn baby burn.

Since its arrival in early July with temps hitting 118 degrees and above, daytime high temps have not dipped much below 90.   It would appear, I fear, this is the new norm.  

I am really feeling a bit helpless, and some despair over this and so many things that are going on in our homeland these days.  Not surprising I suppose.  But truly, I do believe that this too shall pass.  There is always the peak of the mountain we climb, but sometimes it leads to tranquil plateau, sometimes another mountain or other times, to a downhill course.  What I hope we come to remember is that we are all in this together.   One human family.   So why is it, it is so hard for us all to just get along?

End of rant.  Thanks for reading.

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