Caution: Fire Danger, Pt. 2

In New York City before September 11th when a subway train stopped unexpectedly between stations commuters would groan, audibly and in unison. In the weeks after September 11th, when a train stopped unexpectedly, the silence was palpable. People looked each other in the eye and shared a moment of silent terror.

I was reminded of that today while getting the oil changed at JiffyLube. Typically in a crowded waiting room, if you heard the siren of a fire truck go by, I'm not sure anyone would even react. Maybe you would think to yourself "I hope they make it in time." Or maybe, if you knew a firefighter, you would say a prayer to yourself for his or her safety. Maybe you would think about the family the truck was rushing to save. But not today. Today people looked up from their magazines. Instead of thinking about one family, I thought about the 350,000 homes that have been evacuated and the 10,000 people at Qualcom Stadium. E, my friend in New York commented that it would be weird to live somewhere where "raging infernos" are sort of "normal." She's right.

SMS and I are still safe. We can see the smoke in the sky, but today I haven't smelled it so much. I know of people who have been evacuated (friends and families of friends, parents of co-workers) and my thoughts are with them and with everyone personally impacted by this amazing and frightening display of nature.