Crazy Day

Definition of Surreal: Unreal; disorienting; fantastic; having an oddly dreamlike quality.

My Day:

Drove out to Butte College and discovered that the campus was closed down and has become an encampment for the fire fighters working to put out the 10% contained wild fire that had burnt 8,000 acres and many homes in the area surrounding Chico. More and more people are being evacuated and it's pretty fucking intense.

Once back in town, on the freeway and smack dab in the middle of morning rush hour traffic, a ladder flew off the Comcast truck in front of me and flew into my car. Yes, it truly did. I swerved to miss it, didn't, spun the car around, hit the guard rail and braced myself in fear of being smashed into by another car. I wasn't. My air bag had deployed and my car was filling with smoke so I turned the ignition off, undid my seat belt, grabbed my keys and purse and got myself out of there. I called Jerry.

The Comcast guy stopped along with the guy who was behind me and almost hit me but didn't. Then some of fire fighters arrived along with 1st responders, California Highway Patrol (CHP), and a tow truck. Everybody did the things everybody does in those situations. I was pretty much in shock and refused to be transported to the hospital.

It had been too long and Jerry still hadn't arrived so I called him again and got his voice mail. Then I figured he had driven all the way out to Butte College because I had told him I was on the freeway directly in front of Butte College. There is a Butte College Chico Center which is what I meant but he's from the east coast (is that the reason?) and has a different idea than I do of what a freeway is (it's a road, that runs pass the Butte College Main Campus, off of a highway where I work which is 15 miles outside of Chico.) Anyway, that's where he zoomed off to rescue me. So I called my friend Pema and she didn't answer. Then I called my son who did answer said he was on his way. I thought I explained to him where I was but he ended up going out to the main campus also. I was feeling a bit abandoned and wondering who to call next when Jerry finally found me.

Then I spent the rest of the day at the doctor's office, getting x-rays, picking up a rental car, calling insurance companies, the CHP, etc. feeling nauseous and overall worse and worse with each passing hour. I'm home now, emotionally drained and pretty sore. It's the left side of my body that is all messed up. My arm got hit pretty bad by the air bag (did you know they are made of woven metal?) By chest is bruised, my neck and shoulder hurt, my hip hurts. I'm OK, but I'm kinda freaked out actually. I keep seeing that flying ladder...

Jerry took care of me. Pema came and took care of me too. Damn I'm happy to be alive.

The fire's still burning out of control. Burning right across the street from Butte College now. South Paradise has been evacuated. No roads into Paradise are open and only one road out.

In 1958, Georgia O'Keeffe painted Ladder to the Moon. In Pueblo culture the ladder symbolizes the link between the Pueblos and cosmic forces.

What does my flying ladder symbolize?

Surreal, crazy day.