Rachelle in the City: Armageddon Has Arrived
I started off my weekend looking for dogs at the shelters. It's not like we can have a dog considering we don't have a yard. We did it for kicks I guess. I am set on getting a pure mutt...the kind you can't really tell what it is because it is so mixed. I had one and it lived for a really long time without being taken to the vet. I loved him.
That evening I also met up with a college friend who was staying at the Four Seasons for her job. Pretty posh. We had dinner and pretended we were rich. I felt proud that we were able to declare what wine we wanted with ease. We answered questions such as "Evian or Pellegrino." When it came time to ordering our desserts we asked that they be delivered to the lounge. Oh the life of the rich and we blended in so well.
There was a bar fight at the Four Seasons. Who would have thought? I guess alcohol has that effect on the rich as well. This guy was asking for it. He kept yelling something...he even went to the band's mic and yelled it. Still we could not understand him. The wife (girlfriend? paramour?) looked PISSED. He made his way to the bar and all of a sudden he was in this fight. Our table was right in the line of fire. The guys rolled around but I didn't see actual fists fly. Maybe that's how rich people fight? Avery's drink spilled from our table being tipped. She played victim and we supported her by expressing our disgust at this outburst. I heard one guy yell out "My god, this is the Four Seasons, stop fighting!" At least we got a free bottle of champagne out of it. That was my evening at the Four Seasons. For once, we were not the cause of drama.
And then, fire everywhere. Where did it come from? On Monday I dutifully went to work and by the time I arrived the air was thick with smoke. Pretty scary. I was told we were going to close up shop so everyone could go home and take care of their families. I felt ash on my face and I noticed the sky was red as I walked back to my car. It was eerie. I decided to go to the only family I had, which was my mother-in-law's house. It felt good to be around a "motherly" figure. We spent the day watching the news on TV and grew steadily amazed at the extent the fire was growing. I felt blessed and a little guilty that we were located in the little pocket where there were no fires and no fires were headed toward us. Instead we just had the smoke, the terrible asthma inducing smoke. Ugh. I couldn't tear myself away from the news coverage of the fires. I began to think of what I would take if I were evacuated. I helped my mother-in-law prepare stuff just in case they would have to evacuate. Geoff, his dad, and his brother all left work early and we spent the day together. It was definitely a time of being with family and appreciating what we had and praying for those who had lost homes and everything dear to them in the fires.
"Armageddon Has Arrived," were Tuesday's headlines in the newspaper back in my hometown of Albuquerque, NM. My aunt texted me saying that it was time for Geoff to fly me back home because CA was no longer safe. She listed off all the reasons of why I should not stay in CA. My family was just waiting for this sort of opportunity to get me to return home. I just laughed and replied that I would be fine and CA would be fine. Of course I said this with trepidation as I looked outside to find even more smoke outside with the air thick as ever with the smell of smoke.
The ash was beginning to settle everywhere. Phone calls were received by friends and family asking if I was ok. Sheesh. I have never been in this position before. Once again work was shut down for the day and so was Geoff's. Geoff and I spent the day occupying ourselves and keeping an eye on the fires. I didn't dare step outside because of the bad air.
Renewal. Is that what's going on here? Is the earth attempting to rejuvinate itself? It's kind of like that movie I watch guilt-free every time I see it on TV called "The Day After Tomorrow," where devastation had to occur in order for the Earth to restore balance. Pretty crazy. I don't know what I believe and am sure there are quite a few people who feel the same.
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