One of my favorite places is burning. It's hard to imagine the fury of the Big Sur, California fire while immersed in the relentless green of Berkshire summer. The blogs linked to below tell the scary story. I'm not religious and I'm uncomfortable using the word prayer, but I'm praying for rain and safety for all in the region.Sitting with Fire
Sur Fire 2008
Big Sur Now
Xasáuan Today
Firefighter Blog
Esalen
Posts
2 comments:
We were at a lovely party on the Fourth of July with a couple who had been evacuated from Big Sur. I had asked the innocent question, "Are you local?" when the woman kind of did a distressed combination between African dance and someone trying to stomp out, well, I realize now: a fire.
She couldn't laugh or cry, but she just pointed south, where from the mountainside where we stood, you could see what was the closest thing to a mushroom cloud in our modern lives. 75 miles south, the cloud grew from the burning woods of Big Sur.
I just wanted to kiss her hands, but she got a lot of love—they both did—from everyone in earshot. They knew to count their blessings.
God bless the firefighters, and that lovely little pocket of light on this earth.
It's so sad to think of this--ten years ago, give or take a few days, I was in Big Sur on my honeymoon, at the Ventana Inn, a magical place I hope to one day see again. For those who've never been, Big Sur is one of the most beautiful spots on the planet, and I've just been praying for it to dodge this disaster, as much as possible...
Post a Comment