Smokelanta

Whoa! I woke up this morning, went about my usual routine and didn't notice anything different until I got in my car for the 25-mile trip to work. The morning was somewhat chilly, so at first I thought the air was just filled with fog, you know, just thick, condensed moisture.

As I drove a few miles the fog didn't clear. In fact, it got thicker. In broad open areas, like the Wal-Mart parking lot I drove by, the air was white and dense. The sun overhead was a pale yellow, much like it looks an hour before sunset, instead of the intense white it normally is by 8:45 in the morning.

Then somewhere along my trip I finally noticed a smoky smell. My mind started racing. Was there a large fire nearby? I could only think of the people in South Georgia whose houses were going up in flames. Was my house at risk? Should I turn back and collect my most precious possessions?

I put that thought out of my head pretty quickly. I wasn't going to overreact. So I drove all the way to church and the same white, thick smoke accompanied me the entire way.

I checked CNN.com first thing when I arrived and right on the front page was a video entitled, "Smoke Covers Atlanta." The description of the clip explained that the very same fire I thought of in South Georgia was the same fire that was causing all this smoke. That's a LOT of smoke and it's traveling a looooooong way. That must be some fire!