Smoke Gets in Your Eyes

That moment when you realize that we're not engulfed in a cloud of smoke, but only fog. Sweet, wonderful natural fog. Then that fog burns to reveal, oh, we are still engulfed in smoke. If that's not a metaphor for 2020, I don't know what is. 

I find it very disconcerting to bitch and moan about smoke when over a half million people in Oregon has been evacuated from their homes due to the devastating fires about the state. After all here we are, sequestered in our apartment, far from being displaced ourselves, though always on alert just in case. Then you check the statistics and discover that, due to the raging blazes we are surrounded by, the air quality is the worst in the entire world. We're Number One, Oregon! Three cheers! Hip..hip..cough..hack...choke...

This has been absolutely brutal. Thanks to my job, I've been out in this mess since it began and it has been miserable. Fortunately for me, I've been out of the danger zones, but I can't say the same for my co-workers, some of whom have had to abandon ship to bug out with their families of their own neighborhoods. I haven't seen the effects of the fires up close and personal, only what they have left in the atmosphere. Driving about has been eerie as hell, not being able to see downtown Portland at all when it was less than a mile away. Crossing a bridge, I had to strain to see the Willamette River. 

It occurred to me that only a few months ago, highways and by-ways, streets and sidewalks were all  deserted when the pandemic struck. I wondered if it was scarier to see it or to not see it all. We've always been told the there's nothing more frightening than the unknown. If we could visualize it all, would that tangible evidence make it easier to cope? Then this happened and set the claustrophobic levels into the red zone...literally. Maybe it's the combination of everything. Whatever the case may be, at least we know the fires will be extinguished and the smoke will eventually dissipate. Rain is on the way, at least that's the rumor AKA the forecast. The long-lasting effects will be the next obstacle to overcome and we shall, won't we?

This is happening during the anniversary of 9/11, the time to recall the events of that rotten day in history, but more importantly, salute those who both lost and gave their lives during that tragedy and since, given that they were in the thick of things, breathing in the poisons left behind when the towers fell. 9/11 gave us newfound and deserved respect to first responders and their spirits have lived on in those who have been on the frontlines of this Coronavirus debacle and the devastation of the fires all over the West Coast. Their efforts give the rest of us hope. Remember what is? 

We the People, goddamn it.

Now pass the Visine.