Time for an anecdote. Because some days deserve it. This one certainly does.

And by “day”, I don’t mean “Sunday” or “Monday.” I really mean the period between Sunday afternoon and Monday afternoon. That 24 hour block. Because there was a lot compressed into it.

To set the scene: I had spent the last several days in Kansas City, Missouri. As with virtually all my destinations, it was not particularly by choice, although the city does have a few charms of its own. During my time there, at which I was accompanied by my family, the firestorms in California were all over the news. The entire state was shrouded by a thick layer of unhealthy smoke.

One of my beloved children and I were slated to head back early, on Sunday evening, abandoning the rest of the family. My wife insisted that the aforementioned child stay away from the smoke, and she strongly encouraged, almost to the point of insistence, that I remain as well. However, I really wanted to get back home, smoke be damned. I wanted to get back to my computers, my screens, my dogs, and my super-high speed Internet. I would see the family soon enough. (more…)