I didn’t make a big blogwide announcement but I’ve been visiting friends and family in the U.S. during the past week. My sister lives in Sacramento, home of the Triple-A Sacramento Rivercats who play at Raley Field not far from my sister’s new house. I was looking forward to catching a game last night, perhaps even walking along the Sacramento River that runs close to my sister’s house, through the old downtown and directly to the field. The quintessential small ballpark experience, right?

Uh, no. Due to the fires happening in Butte County (near Chico) the downdrift into the Sacramento Valley, combined with 110 degree (around 40 celsius) plus temperatures, combined with the usual delightful accompaniment of hot weather smog in the area, made for a lovely day of “very unhealthy” Air Quality Index readings of 255 and 215, depending on where you were. Does it matter? Doctors have been publicly warning people to stay inside.

So I did. For the most part I was in my sister’s house sipping a beer and watching the Giants/Mets game. Once it was dark I went outside onto the patio and noticed the furniture had a thin coating of ash. I’ve only seen a thin coat of ash atop furniture like that once in my life — and that was on Sept. 11, 2001. I’m sure that was the worst air I’ve ever breathed in my life (in terms of damage to my body), but I’m sure yesterday ranked right right up there. I can still feel it in my throat as I type this.

This also happens in Korea from time to time. Hwangsa is a lovely little gift mostly from China that increasingly makes its way across the sea, filling the lungs of Koreans everywhere with fine, dry soil particles and a variety of health problems.

Good thing I stopped smoking a few years back.