Just had an interesting conversation

I was driving to meet Brian Morales for lunch at Chipotle when he called and cancelled. Typical. I deceided to change up my lunch plans and got a Juice It Up instead. As I was driving back to the office I knew I had a few extra minutes and did a detour to see the fire damage. I stopped at a park that overlooked all of Whiting Ranch. On a normal day this view would have been amazing: clear skys, beautiful greens trees, and snapshots of my favorite trails hidden by the brush and wild flowers. Today was different though, the sky was filled with smoke and the beauty of Whiting Ranch was hidden by black ash with no sign of any living plant life.

As I walked back to my car an older woman drove up in her Camry and asked me how bad the damage was. I explained to her that everything in Whiting Ranch and along the Modjeska Grade was destroyed. Her response back was interesting. As she pointed to her house that was directly next to the fire break she said, “So by all of this being destroyed I’m able to still have my house. I’ve evacuated 3 days ago and I’m glad to be home.” We then parted ways.

The take away from this conversation for me was that people matter so much more than anything else. As sad as I am that Whiting is gone, I am so happy that this woman still has a home to live in.

Andy B
outsideallday.com