[Harp-L] SoCal fires in my city

["steve warner" <10reedsbent@xxxxxxxxx>]

I have almost 200 harp l emails and have no idea who's posted what the past
5 days, so here's a firsthand account and sorry if I'm repeating anything.


I live in the main city sector of Irvine about 10 miles away from the fires
in Santiago Canyon and it's the one that's still only 35% contained.  The
fires are moving toward Corona (Fender's West Coast HQ's) and into Riverside
County, BUT by Sunday the Santa Ana winds are supposed to return to
moderate winds and blow it right back to where I live.  I'll be safe, but my
sister in law in Lake Forest may not be.  My other sis, bro in law and my
nephew were evactuated down by Rancho Bernardo a few days back.    They're
home and safe now.  Finally on Thursday I washed off my patio and it was
pretty much an ashtray.  There's ash powder so fine it looks like gun powder
and bigger particles of ash that  looks like you just put a fan into a
campfire and let the stuff fly.  Stuffy nose, headaches, sneezing with
slight throat sensitivity.   All the soccer games, practices, etc are all
cancelled due to the air quality.  All's good though.

I called my son's little buddy's home and spoke to the mom,  her husband,
Russ, is a paramedic down past Rod Piazza's neighborhood in Escondido.
Well, she said he worked 48 straight hours and came home Wed. morning and
had to be back to work by 9 pm that same night.  She said his eyes were
nearly swollen shut, his feet had blisters, he lost about 20 pounds and
looked half dead.   He's one of a 1000 unknown heros.  This gal I'm dating
has 2 sons who are fire fighters, one with the forest service as the- I
think they call them Hotshots-  who do air drops into the un-escapable hot
spots and does the dirty work and he carries a chainsaw, backpack, ax and
the fire gear and has to climb gulleys, hills, brush etc to battle this
nightmare.  More man than I am by a long shot!    The other son goes from
fire to fire without much sleep.  Is mom worried?  Yeah!  Do they even see
each other? No!   Sometimes at big fires where both units are fighting a
fire and they only have time to say, "Hey brother, how are you?  How's mom?
Bye."

I left to work this morning and the morning air smelled like an old stinky
ashtray.  The idiot leaf blowers are hard at work blowing the crap off my
front porch right toward the grass (so he doesn't have to pick it up) and
whatever doesn't get stuck in the grass just floats around back in the air
from whence it came.  Freakin' rocket scientist!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  Why do
these people even get paid?????????????

Anyway, please send a honk and a thumbs up to the firemen and women when ya
see them and don't forget the police as they were going house to house in
some areas knocking on doors to wake residents to get out NOW.  Those
guys have courage beyond my wildest dreams.

I can't paint the many mics I have to paint due to the ash, but maybe on Sat
I can as the winds are calm and the moon finally had mostly a white glow
this morning.  Last night it was still orange.

I just heard that there's a fire toward Rancho Santa Margarita where the
flames are seen from the backyards and it's heading toward Laguna Beach.
THat's where Big Al Blake lives from THe Hollywood BLue Flames.  So yes, us
harp players are affected, especially in the lungs.  We're alive and that's
the important thing.

If anyone I'm building a mic for is reading this then you know why it hasn't
been shipped.   Thanks for your patients.

Until I report again, KEEP ON HARPIN'
steve
www.thunderharpmics.com
fattest tone on earth!