Wandering Along the Path: Right Speech

Our son, daughter-in-law and grandson are still in their house. The fire is still close, but we're praying the firefighters get a handle on it. Our good air has become moderate and will get worse as the fires go on, but hopefully not too bad for them or us. There is something weird about the pretty vineyards and hills that resemble Italy and France going up in smoke. It was a kind of dream to have your own vineyard and pond and many people became gentleman farmers. I'm not talking about the big wineries. They are agribusiness. But the fantasy of the good life, and anyone could drive up for a weekend and sip from a glass and walk in sculpture gardens and get away from the real world. The real world of migrant workers, of tech baby millionaires, of poverty and inequity. Real people like my son and his wife are teachers who can't afford a bigger house, or getaways at spa resorts nearby. And while these fires are raging, our president is raging and fueling the flames of hate and denial and misdirection. Let's not be misdirected ourselves. Let's turn and look directly at the craziness and insist it stop. Unlike the fires we can cease this travesty of governing in a few weeks. I pray we do.