The new normal

Things that would have once given us pause become commonplace in the aftermath of the fires
1) People wearing masks, and not the fun Halloween kind.
2) Not seeing the ridgelines or hillsides from the valley floors.
3) Strange vehicles in even stranger places, like the four boats, 10 classic cars, one monster truck and pile of crab pots in the parking lot of a local elementary school.
4) People staring vacantly at nothing. In cars at stoplights, in the line at the grocery store, on the street.
5) Children not in school in the middle of the day.
6) Social media posts about lost pets, lost houses and lost lives.
7) The rumble of heavy aircraft overhead.
8) Fire trucks and police cars from places like San Diego, Monterey and Utah lining the streets.
9) Tourist spots, usually packed for harvest, nearly empty.
10) Strangers embracing.
11) More PG&E vehicles and personnel than you ever thought existed, and you still don’t have power.
12) If you’ve ever told someone that there are two seasonal colors here, green and brown, you now have to add another, black.
13) Neighbors who may not have even known each others’ names before, acting together and working communally.
14) Rubbernecking delays on 101 that no one seems to mind, because they’re all looking at the same horrible stuff.  
15) Bolting awake at the slightest breeze or wind gust at night.
16) Coughing. Everyone, everywhere, all the time.
17) Looking out the windows in every direction right before you go to bed and right after you wake up.
18) Feeling dirty and gritty any time you are outside. Even your teeth.
19) Survivor’s guilt.
20) Not going more than an hour without learning of someone else you know that has lost their home or business.