Everyone in L.A. is sitting in front of their TVs having anxiety attacks over the wildfires in the area mountains. Okay, good reason. The city is simply surrounded by blazes with the smell and remnants of charred brush and lumber wafting all over the area.
Amazingly, while the folks in the basin are freaking out, the displaced people from the firelines are a lot more grounded.
My friend Todd lives in Arrowhead. He and his family evacuated the town Saturday along with the rest of the residents. The smart ones anyway. I saw him today, and he was the picture of calm. He's pretty convinced his home will be okay, but the very idea of dropping everything and leaving your home - well, my brain would've checked out the minute the fire began. Todd's biggest complaint was that he's tired of wearing the shirt on his back - he forgot to pack more. He was also impressed with the fact that while his family found refuge 'way out in Palm Springs, it took him the same amount of time to drive to West LA.
I guess the point is that if you do the right thing in a dire situation, you rest easily with that knowledge and you deal with it. I'm certain that not everyone's reacting like Todd is, but most of the people I've seen and heard have the same behavior.
I guess that's why I live on the beach. The wind here just blows the aroma of decomposing sea lions into OUR homes.
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