Fire in Palo Alto
There's a broad plume of black smoke drifting across the sky, visible for miles; there's a house (or something) on fire in Palo Alto, on Rinconada, only a couple blocks from Kam's parents' old place and a couple more from Chris T's parents' place. I was driving through Palo Alto when I first saw it; the flames could be seen jetting up above the tops of houses from a few blocks away. Scary. There were firefighters all over the place, so I assume they'll get it under control.
Which reminds me obliquely that yesterday on the way to pick up materials for the game (a stuffed cat, and a little cat nose on an elastic band to wear over my nose), I was driving through Los Altos and saw a gigantic geyser of water gushing straight up from the sidewalk, to a height of probably twenty or thirty feet; as I got closer, it became clear that it was the former location of a fire hydrant (no idea what happened to the hydrant itself). I briefly pondered calling the police, then saw a firetruck on the way, siren running. When I drove past again fifteen minutes later, the firefighters were surrounding the geyser but didn't seem to have a clear plan in operation for shutting it down. But I was running late, so couldn't stay to watch. I imagine they got it under control.
First water, then fire. And I suppose, on an entirely different scale, Hurricane Isabel counts as air. I hope this doesn't presage sudden huge bursts of earth—supervolcano, anyone?