Living in Paradise can often bring Hell

or, how a raging wildfire can become a moment of Zen.

I've lived here in Santa Barbara for decades, with a few stray "run-away" moments in San Francisco, Sacramento, Pismo Beach and La Crescenta. I've seen many things go...and new things come to take their place. One thing, however, always remains a constant. The threat of fires.

Santa Barbara has certainly seen it's share of monster wildfires that wipe out 200, 300, 400 homes in a session. It gets to be, in a certain way, "old hat." You accept the fact that your life quite possibly could change in a single moment. Your "things" could be dust in a matter of minutes. You enjoy the beauty of the vibrant red/orange sunsets, but you know in your heart it more than likely means "disaster" fairly close by. But isn't that like life, anyhow? Enjoy the beauty while you can but understand there is a dark side to that beauty; there's a price somewhere that needs to be paid for it. Wildfires are our price for living here in "Paradise." And, often, we don't know when the payment has come due.

Well. We've been given notice with this Zaca Fire raging up in the valley, threatening to creep up and sweep down the glorious mountains, possibly taking with it our area's power supply. Residents of the City have been warned about a worse case scenario of the flames roaring down upon the City, and, with fewer hands to fight the fire, thanks to this Administration having sent the National Guard to Iraq to fight a useless and non-winable war, it quite possibly could destroy a good portion of the City and it's surrounding areas.

You start taking mental notes. Water? Check. Flashlight? Check. Radio with batteries, or in my case one of those "wind up" varietals....check. ID. Check. Extra cash. Check. Gas tank more than 3/4 full? Check.
Extra clothing? Check. But what then...which photos can you take? What favorite books can you pack? Do you really need to take the teddy bear? How about the mask from New Zealand that was handed down by a lost loved one? The paintings or lithos on the wall...can you manage to squeeze them in the car? And, don't get me started on my All Clad cookware. You know you can only take the very basics, because the simplicity of your baggage could mean life or death.

Simplicity. That's the key to survival in the threat of disaster. Simplicity. That's the key to surviving life.

Now...back to my filling up my water bottles.