the fire season in california is bad. the blaze i wrote about last sat. night is one of a very many touched off by a large thunderstorm. jean vengua writes about the fires here. my own city, sac, is nestled in a large bowl that is the great central valley. this bowl is as i type filled with the smoke from these fires. the air is brownish-red, smudgy and godawful. the temp. has cooled but we are expected more of the same bad air tomorrow.
the smoky air does remind me of fall when i was a kid and at work i was not the only one who thought the same thing. every time i looked out the window i thought that i should gather nicholas and anna up and go hunting for pumpkins and our halloween costumes. well, at least i've got something to look forward to.
4 Comments:
Thanks for reminding me of the "rice burning" of my childhood. Why would I be nostalgic for such a thing as bad air? I remember feeling sort of smug about my knowledge, being able to say, "Oh, they're burning the rice fields." I think somehow the knowledge made me feel grown-up.
Maybe there was also something satisfying in recognizing the connection between my air and some other place. I'm here connected to that area on the other side of town, out in the country. When you're a kid, there aren't so many things that make you feel connected to places that are out of sight.
Also, there was the seasonality of it. A sense of familiarity every year--oh, yes, I recognize that smell. The comfort of regular occurrences.
Do you remember it fondly too?
i, too, have been thinking it has felt like october.
absolutely, catalin, i remember the smell and texture of that supremely bad air that occurred in our childhoods with great fondness. it connects one with the land i suppose but more it reminds me of the circumferance of time. that what ends begins later again.
also it reminds me of halloween, the imagery and excitement of what is my favorite holiday. i have many wonderful memories tied to the annual rice fields burning and going to payless to buy my costume.
logan: today because of the heavy smoke and the relatively mild temp for this time of year, tho it is getting pretty warm, was a total flashback of fall.
brownish-red smoke - that's REALLY bad!
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