Tuesday, November 18, 2008

Literary Smoke

I was supposed to run the Pasadena Marathon last Sunday. It was canceled due to poor air equality caused by the fires. I was disappointed. I'd trained for months, changing my lifestyle to eventually run the marathon.

I got an e-mail at 4am, saying the race wasn't going to happen. I was disappointed. Then I remembered the people who lost their homes. Their loss must be indescribable.

I remember when fires raged throughout Griffith Park, an area real close to me. I could smell the burning trees. What's burning now is different. What's in the air is not the scent of burning trees or brush. It's the odor of burning couches, clothes, photo albums, and toys.

The air is drenched with this.

5 comments:

Cheryl said...

My girlfriend and I stupidly tried to jog in a park near our house (in Highland Park) on Sunday and were gasping for breath after less than two miles. I kept looking around to see who was barbecuing; then I was like, "Oh, right."

Peter Varvel said...

Yeah, I almost missed going to a reunion party over the weekend because of the congested freeways.
'Sacrifice' is not a word we should be allowed to use when comparing what we've missed to what others have lost.
Devastating and heartbreaking, their plight.

Dann said...

WOW, how disappointing, Noel. To be revved for a race with all the months and months of training and changing your lifestyle to meet the extreme demands --- and then it doesn't happen. Whoa, VERY disappointing! It's like a firecracker not going off and it just fizzles. My heart goes out to you.....

Don Cummings said...

HOw disappointing, though. Well, you are so ready for the next marathon. Keep training! These fires are so odd. I didn't smell the burning household items...but it did all seem quite toxic, somehow.

Todd HellsKitchen said...

Yeah, those fires look awful on the news...