Breathing Through the Smoky Air — A World on Fire
Wildfires are burning out of control, on the US West Coast.
As I write these words, more than 1,600,000 acres are either burning, or have burned. That's about 6,500 square kilometers for you metric folks.
Although we are a fair distance from the nearest fire zones, we now sit under a thick blanket of brown smoke, and our air quality is to the point where it's best to just stay inside, with the windows closed.
I went to town — briefly — this afternoon, and I had quite a sore throat by the time I got back home. But hey, we needed groceries!
2020 is turning into quite a year, isn't it?
As I stood in town, in the middle of the afternoon, the sun was a barely visible pale disk in the sky.
The sun through the smoke at around 3:30pm
I stood outside on our back deck for a little while, near "sunset."
We couldn't actually see the sun, but we could tell it had gone below the horizon because the temperature dropped very suddenly.
For a moment, I found myself wondering if this would be what a so-called "Nuclear Winter" would feel like.
For a moment, I found myself pondering biblical stories about the "End-of-days."
Remembering clearer days...
Since then, I have been trying to get some work done, but I find that the slight headache that has been with me all day is disturbing my concentration.
Even writing this somewhat "thin" update of a blog post seemed to require a lot of concentration.
In Other News...
Today marks the 19th anniversary of the "9/11 Incident."
What a place this world of ours has become!
Thanks for reading, and I hope you are healthy and safe, wherever you may be!
As always, comments, feedback and other interaction is invited and welcomed! Because — after all — SOCIAL content is about interacting, right? Leave a comment-- share your experiences-- be part of the conversation!
(All text and images by the author, unless otherwise credited. This is ORIGINAL CONTENT, created expressly for this platform — NOT A CROSSPOST!!!)
Created at 20200911 22:45 PDT
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Hi @denmarkguy, I saw i the news about Wildfire in Oregon and California. That looks horrific, I am so thankful for the firefighter guys, that must be the most hard job that is difficult to get under control.
It is obvious that such events will not disappear without impact on the health of many especially the ones who already have underlying Lung condition. At the moment both Coronavirus and such polluted air keep people inside of their houses. Lack of oxygen for our brain activity definitely will reduce the concentration.
It is difficult to image that it is already 19 years since 9/11 the days when we heard and saw on television what happened those days are so clear like it was yesterday. Even now it is like a bad dream.
I hope the fire will be under control soon and I wish you, your family and friends too to stay healthy :)