30 Day Baseball Card Challenge

Thursday, September 10, 2020

A Humbling Experience


Yesterday
, I woke up and the sun never made an appearance.  The smoke from all of the crazy wildfires blanketed the sky and it looked like something you'd only see in the movies.   The photo above looks like it was taken at 7 o'clock in the morning or in the evening, but it was actually taken at 1:57pm at the baseball field across the street from my place.

2009 Topps Heritage American Heroes #38

Just looking across the field was a humbling experienceI had just wrapped up a staff meeting where more stuff had been thrown on our plate and angry text messages among colleagues were being exchanged.  But after seeing this, I was immediately reminded how my personal problems are nothing compared to what others are going through right now.

2009 Topps Heritage American Heroes #31

My heart goes out to all of those who have lost their homes, pets, and personal items in these devastating fires, while I have the utmost appreciation for the thousands of firefighters and volunteers who are risking their lives to save people, homes, pets, and wildlife across the world... but especially those currently fighting the fires in the Western United States.

2009 Topps Heritage American Heroes #40

Hopefully none of you have been impacted by these fires or any of the other natural disasters that have been wreaking havoc across our country in recent weeks.

2009 Topps Heritage American Heroes #33

Have a good evening.  Stay safe and sayonara!

17 comments:

The Diamond King said...

Looks the same here, very weird. But the closest fire is still at least 20 miles away, I should be fine. Tough to breathe though, makes you thankful for indoors and HEPA filters!

Sean said...

That does suck. My parents live on the West coast (Victoria) and woke up a couple of days ago to a similar sight, everyone was advised to stay indoors. Stay safe!

Chris said...

I saw the "apocalyptic sky" in the SF bay area and thought about those of you in the area. Those poor firefighters never seem to get a break.

Hope you're able to stay safe and breathe clean air. That looks awful :(

defgav said...

Just when you think 2020 couldn't get any worse! Everything's smokey here in Portland too. I'm getting worried and will probably start packing some stuff soon just in case we need to scram. Bad times!

Matt said...

Start safe everyone in those areas!

acrackedbat said...

My heart goes out to all affected. I can't begin to imagine living through a disaster like this and all of life changing in only a moment.

Johnnys Trading Spot said...

Be safe. I hope this fire season calms way down for y'all. I hope the winds are milder too.

Matt said...

Stay safe!

CinciCuse Bill said...

That, on top of everything else going on, must be difficult and stressful to deal with. Best of luck, and stay safe.

Rod (Padrographs) said...

We have had multiple people we know have to evacuate and don't know the status of their homes yet. My cousins all live in Southern Oregon, they are all safe and no losses, but their neighborhoods are devastated. The smoke here in parts of Portland is thick. Just going outside gives me a headache. Good thing I am putting in applications around town on the computer.

friend11 said...

I can't imagine how it feels. Stay safe.

The Lost Collector said...

The pictures are incredible. Very sad. Be safe!

The Snorting Bull said...

My brother lives in Washington state and was evacuated last year. Fires are scary. Stay safe Fuji. Sending some positive thoughts and vibes your way.

Rebel Coyote said...

Stay safe out there

Big Tone said...

I'm on the opposite coast so all I get is news info and reports. I can only imagine what it must be like. Be safe, Fuji 🙏

Fuji said...

the diamond king - glad to hear that you're safe. i can only imagine how hard it is to breathe for the fire fighters and those who are in the vicinity of the fires

sean - it's one of those situations where you start appreciating the little things like fresh air. between the heat waves and the fires, i can't remember the last time i opened up the windows. but it's been a few weeks

chris - every year it seems like they have to deal with these fires, but this year is definitely worse than normal. it's even more sad that some of these fires could have been avoided if people just used common sense

defgav - i was definitely thinking of you guys in portland. my friend is in the same situation as you. her back yard is literally the forest.

sport card collectors - yeah. agree 100%

acrackedbat - it must be like living in a nightmare. all of your clothing, personal items, photos, etc gone in a few minutes.

johnnys trading spot - the sky cleared up a little yesterday. not sure if that's good or bad though. it might have been the wind that pushed it away. if that's the case, that's bad. hopefully it means the fires are starting to get contained.

matt - thanks. i'm safe. with the exception of poor air quality. it's those who live near the fires and the people fighting these fires that i'm worried about

cincicuse bill - 2020 has been an all-around stinker for sure. 2021 can't get here fast enough

rod - stay safe buddy. you were definitely one of the people i was thinking about. my buddy who was evacuated weeks ago (before school started) still doesn't know the full status of his home. he knows it survived (one of only a handful that did in his area), but they told him he won't be allowed back in the area anytime soon. he's worried about all of the chemicals they dropped on the area to fight the fires.

friend11 - honestly... me either. i just have to deal with the poor air quality. but i feel terrible for the people who are losing their homes, pets, and personal items... as well as the people sacrificing their safety to help those in need

the lost collector - when we look back on it, the people who didn't lose homes, valuable, or worse will be able to look at these photographs and see some crazy skies. some of them are actually gorgeous. but i can only imagine what seeing these photographs does to so someone who has lost something

rebel coyote - thanks. my place isn't near any of the fires, so i'm safe. just worried about everyone else in the western united states that are dealing with these fires

big tone - it's crazy how mother nature terrorizes us in different ways on different coasts. stay safe yourself.

Fuji said...

the snorting bull - thanks. hope your brother's house survived last year and he's safe this year as well