Gentle Evenings and Happy Days

At the very last minute we acquired two free tickets to tonight's Dodger game. A couple of days ago we probably would not have gone to the game. The air was too full of smoke and the nerves too tense from fire concerns to even breathe deeply let alone enjoy a game. Today the smoke lifted a bit and despite its ominous origins, the Station fire seemed at least half way contained. So off to the game went we.
Earlier in the season a good friend showed me her secret and free baseball game parking place the location of which I won't reveal because then, well, you know...it wouldn't be a secret any more.
Since this was all very last minute we were running late and even in the secret parking place couldn't get as close to the stadium as I would have liked. Free, though, is free and we gladly walked the extra distance.
At about the seventh inning stretch I smelled smoke and assumed the wind from the Station fire had shifted in our direction. I also assumed that the helicopter flying over head was checking out the game. And that haze around the outfield lights had to be, well, night time fog surely drifting on to the field.
Imagine my surprise, then, after having ignored all of these clues, to find that the street -- my friend's secret parking place and now my secret parking place too -- was closed because of a brush fire right about where we would have parked had we arrived earlier.
Things seemed to be out and under control when we walked by several fire trucks. The fire fighters were already coiling their heavy hoses. Even so, I wanted to applaud them. I didn't, though. After all, the street was closed and the game was ending. I still had time to make a U turn and be on my way before the street opened to post game traffic.
Driving home listening to the news to see if we could hear anything about the Chavez Ravine brush fire we learned of a small earthquake up around Bakersfield.
Apparently no one was injured in the earthquake, the little brush fire appeared to be out, the big brush fire appeared to be under control, the Dodgers won, and on the still waters of the New Jersey shore a full moon promised bright futures.
Life is good.