Fires and Fear

Many people have contacted me, asking about the Los Angeles fires. I live near some of them, but so far we have been okay. It is still frightening. The winds have been very strong. I have family and friends in Northern California, if I need to evacuate. I went there last time, when my house was surrounded by flames on three sides. I had to leave my pot bellied pig and chicken. We all survived. I drove to my parents' house and  ate and ate and ate. Somehow it calmed me down; that ravenous hunger  was a strange reaction. 

I watched a video of the fire on Facebook and  couldn't believe my eyes. The footage showed the 405 freeway, near the Getty Center. I thought about how many times I had driven down that stretch. I used to take it to Santa Monica when I taught at Westside Ballet. I took ballet classes there almost every morning. I thought about how crowded and congested it would be if everyone were fleeing the area at once. As it it, it takes an hour to drive fourteen miles on that pass during rush hour. Thinking about people trying to get out in a hurry made me ill.

I made an appointment with our neighbor to fix the fence that was flattened by the wind. The force of it reminded me of the tornado scene in The Wizard of Oz. Something about these winds is menacing and dark. You can feel the potential of destruction. The whistling sound they make is eerie and  threatening.

Yesterday my dog went outside and laid on the ground, looking vulnerable and worried. She didn't want to come inside. That's unlike her. She always wants to come inside. I listen to my animals. They know. I thought about the movie Bambi. That fire scene with the animals terrified me as a child.

I went to the drug store and bought some mouthwash and foundation. I scanned the blue mountains. No fire anywhere. It didn't look anything like the news. "Well, it's still LA," I said to myself. "Cars everywhere." Before leaving, I had talked to the plumber who was working on the main line, out in front of my cottage. "Aren't you afraid to work during these fires?" I asked him. "No," he answered. "The wind is blowing in the opposite direction," he added. "They closed the 5 freeway," I told him. "It's open now," he responded. He seemed so happy and calm. I wondered if it was because he was young. I felt a sense of relief upon hearing that the freeway to where I grew up was no longer blocked.

I cooked two meals. Cooking grounds me. I made spaghetti, homemade tomato sauce with a cube of butter and a halved onion, and a tuna casserole. That made me feel better. Now there is plenty of food in the fridge. I went to the atm and withdrew a large amount of cash. I'll need it to pay the guy replacing the fence this weekend. If the fire comes this way, I'll need it in my purse, just in case.

I didn't want to blog today, or do yoga, or practice my songs. I will do all three. I finished knitting a pair of socks, and I mailed out my last open soap order to Reno. I sent my brother his Christmas present, and forgot to mail my Christmas cards while I was there.

The towels are knocking around in the dryer, almost dry. Soon I will take a bath. Hopefully that will relax me. I am still shocked by those images on the news of the freeway and those hillsides. I never thought I'd see the day. The older I get, the more I realize how unpredictable life is.  Today Lana wanted to play frisbee, and now she is sleeping in her bed. Things will probably be okay.

Thank you for your comments. If you enjoy the posts here, please share them.