Chicken Spaghetti

O Susan, you echo what’s intently on our minds about SoCal/LA I appreciate your found poem from The LA Times. Have scanned fire dept blogs & maps to see if my family’s Beloveds are in danger after not finding “Safe from…” on a fb page. I read about the way The Getty staff prepped. I read about the thousands of brave firefighters. Many thoughts & prayers during this hellish wicked weather. Hope you & all your BeLoveds and pals are safe.

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Unimaginable nightmare for so many people, both in the smoke and fire, and worrying from afar. Thinking of you all.

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Such a nightmare 😦 Catastrophic fires are sadly nothing new where I live, the only saving grace is that we’re not nearly as densely populated, so the potential for loss of life is thankfully much lower. But it’s still a nightmare, wherever the fires might be. 😦

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It is tragic. So far, I have a few friends and one cousin’s daughter who are safe, but the daughter has now had to evacuate. Your poem shows the deep emotion, and I’m glad to read that those close to you are safe.

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Your poem says so much in just a few words, Susan. It is devastating. I’m sending good thoughts for your loved ones and all those affected.

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Your found poem captures the horror of this moment. I watched a man on the news last night who spent the time before the fire overtook his home trying to put out the fire. In his efforts to do so, he took nothing out of his home. Everything was burned to the ground and all he had left were the clothes and old slippers he was wearing when he went outside. It does make one think about the people close to you that you need to protect. As you noted, it also makes one consider what would be the one most precious belonging that you might grab as you flee your home. Painful to even contemplate.

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Susan, my often said thought, Life is uncertain and fragile, has played out once again. I am glued to the news about this horrid event. Sadness covers many parts of the US and many people are grieving. Your poem title is apropos. I can imagine the victims of the LA Fires must be grieving. I was happy to see one family on the TV news grateful that they are all alive despite their terrible loses. Your ending question is one that haunts many. I wonder how the government will treat the lose of homes, schools, grocery stores, cars, and churches???

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Carol and Sarah Grace, thank you so much for your thoughtful comments. I cannot get over the scale of these fires. Perhaps because I’ve visited a bit out there, it seems to really strike home. “The overwhelm” is right, Sarah Grace.

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Thanks, Molly. I’ve seen some photos of Canadian water-scooper planes at work today, and that cheered me up a bit amid such devastation.

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It strikes home because it IS home, even if we have never been there, in a way that looking at Gaza, for most of us, cannot penetrate. Like looking at Asheville underwater, it makes US feel underwater, on fire, like calamity is at our doorstep, and we’re forced to consider–what WOULD we pack? And if you’re like me you couldn’t stick with that question very long because there’s no way to plan past the first few “cat + passport + computer” thoughts. But then I’m very attached to my things, and guess what? They’re things.
I always appreciate the curation of your found poems, Susan.

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Thank you so much, Heidi. I didn’t know what else to do the other day other than stare at the headlines! These events have made me realize that my family & I need to do some “just in case” planning, too.

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Susan, I just cannot imagine what people in LA are going through. It brings me back to a time long ago when our apartment complex was on fire in Baltimore. We got ourselves, our neighbors, and our cats out. Luckily, the fire was easily contained. A scary time for sure. I hope the fires abate soon. I have so much appreciation for the firemen/women and first responders. The bravery!

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I’ve been listening to radio news clips and stories of this devastating fire-wish they could contain it. Thanks for your succinct and powerful poem Susan and the links, hard to process the helplessness!

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Michelle and Marcie, thanks for stopping by and for reading my headline howl. I think Michelle is so right about the inability to process this event.

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Yay, Patricia! Nice.

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Oh, Jone, I’m so sorry about what is happening in your native SoCal. My heart just breaks. Surely this will be over soon. What damage these fires have done. It is unfathomable.

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Right, Mary Lee. That is exactly it.

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