HELL, I HOPE NOT? (Monday, 27 October)

[HARDCORE]

The area that I reside in, here in the high desert mountains, use to be one of the roughest, God-Forsaken areas of the entire Southland, just a century ago back! The ranchers in the region, use to get their herds together, drive them down to San Diego (two days away on horseback), drop them off at the slaughterhouses, and then ride home, pouch of gold coins tied to their saddle horns!

The johns (Toilets) were outback (some still are), and the only air-conditioning to be had, was the draft that flowed through the house when one left the front and back door open at the same time (the original flow-thru ventilation)!

If you fell sick, you either got better or died on your own, as anything even close to a doctor was a two day ride away! Most remedies were Native American by nature, unless of course, you imbibed in the squeezings that flowed from that little brown jug, the cowboys only real friend on those cold, hard nights!!

Now I know how those old settlers must have felt, away back when! With flames licking at the horizon, all roads west closed down because of massive wild fires, and the only way out to the east, into the desert!!

?Well, enough of the good news, and now for the bad!??

The fires, as of this moment (Monday) are still out of control, and according to the sages at the electric company, *it may be five days more until service resumes?

If this ain?t Hell, then we can sure as heck see it from here!!

VERITAS

*Wrote this by candlelight Monday last. Electric service resumed last night (Friday) at 11:40 P.M.....