A Song of Ice and Fire *
I woke up this morning to 21 degrees outside and this scene:
It's only mid November -- barely. There's not much of it, but it's a hard, icy snow, and as I got up and dressed I could hear the sound of scrapers on windshields as neighbors scraped their cars to get to work. I left New England because of this, you know.
In California fires continue. My son and his wife are still at her aunt's house, and safe and well cared for. They told me about evacuating their home:
What they packed
At four in the morning the choices you make are baffling. They stuffed a suitcase and a duffel bag in 20 minutes and headed out of their Westlake Village, CA home before dawn last Friday, under mandatory evacuation orders.
When they got to a relative's safe, welcoming place in Orange County, they opened their bags and discovered what they had brought so hurriedly:
Zaneta's mother was able to get to their house over the weekend. It's in an unburned zone, surrounded by active fires, but untouched, and still under mandatory evacuation as roads are closed and Santa Ana winds still threaten to overwhelm the neighborhood.
Her Mom checked on the house -- it's fine -- and brought in the mail. Wait, there was mail delivery during the fire event?
Guilt
Tom and Z are living nicely at her aunt's house far from danger. Eating out, enjoying their hospitality, playing some golf -- although golf attire was shorts and a bathrobe.
They feel terrible about living so nicely and so comfortably, with their house intact and Friday's mail piled on the counter, while others in town have lost everything. They feel very guilty.
I had this conversation with them as we caught up on events over the phone on Sunday. While they chatted about the fire and being evacuated, hail pelted our skylights and early November snow swirled a bit outside our Santa Fe windows.
These are very strange climate times.
* Apologies to George RR Martin.
It's only mid November -- barely. There's not much of it, but it's a hard, icy snow, and as I got up and dressed I could hear the sound of scrapers on windshields as neighbors scraped their cars to get to work. I left New England because of this, you know.
In California fires continue. My son and his wife are still at her aunt's house, and safe and well cared for. They told me about evacuating their home:
What they packed
At four in the morning the choices you make are baffling. They stuffed a suitcase and a duffel bag in 20 minutes and headed out of their Westlake Village, CA home before dawn last Friday, under mandatory evacuation orders.
When they got to a relative's safe, welcoming place in Orange County, they opened their bags and discovered what they had brought so hurriedly:
Important papers, laptops and passports, a bathrobe, a down puffer coat and multiple pairs of shorts. Underwear. Nothing to wear to work the following week. Absolutely nothing to wear to court. They are both still out of their home this week and need to go to work, but wearing a down coat over shorts and a bathrobe isn't going to be appropriate.Local services
Zaneta's mother was able to get to their house over the weekend. It's in an unburned zone, surrounded by active fires, but untouched, and still under mandatory evacuation as roads are closed and Santa Ana winds still threaten to overwhelm the neighborhood.
Her Mom checked on the house -- it's fine -- and brought in the mail. Wait, there was mail delivery during the fire event?
Guilt
Tom and Z are living nicely at her aunt's house far from danger. Eating out, enjoying their hospitality, playing some golf -- although golf attire was shorts and a bathrobe.
They feel terrible about living so nicely and so comfortably, with their house intact and Friday's mail piled on the counter, while others in town have lost everything. They feel very guilty.
I had this conversation with them as we caught up on events over the phone on Sunday. While they chatted about the fire and being evacuated, hail pelted our skylights and early November snow swirled a bit outside our Santa Fe windows.
These are very strange climate times.
* Apologies to George RR Martin.
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