Cassandra stuff
I was at the Saline Rd. Meijer at 7:00 AM this morning perusing the ground beef selections. I always check what they have at Meijer because I like to keep a pound or two of ground beef in the freezer and sometimes when I get to the Plum, it’s early enough that they don’t have it in the meat counter yet. And they don’t always sell it pre-packaged.
Anyway, I got a text that said there was a scary AQI today, making it hard for people to walk out at the bog or whatever. I was like, “AQI”? Say what? It’s the air quality index and it is ultra high because of forest fires in Quebec (and other places including the Great Lake State).
I was initially a bit flummoxed by this because I was oot and aboot (like a Canuckian does) early this morning and it was like 50 degrees, not hazy (that I could see) and a little breezy. I didn’t smell smoke and I was having absolutely no trouble breathing but I never really do have trouble breathing, not even during my COVID case. I had two COVID symptoms: 1) VERY mild cough and 2) EXTREME ANNOYANCE.
I spent a fair amount of time today trying to figure out how real this threat is. I mean the NPR station I was listening to was spouting out AQI warnings every ten minutes or whatever. I get that this can be an issue for people with asthma and other lung problems but I felt like they were over-reporting it a bit. In recent years every weather event seems to get over-hyped. Last year around this time we had a 92 degree day and there were warnings about it for THREE DAYS. It did get hot that day but for many reasons, I was okay. Strong breeze. Central air, which I didn’t even turn on. Shaded lot. Etc.
i am not saying that the AQI is not important because it is for people with breathing issues and it is likely to be worse in the future. I guess I am not saying anything much at all. There’s so much I don’t know…
The takeaway is that when the text message came in, I started talking to myself. In the grocery store. A fellow customer (cool-looking young black guy) caught on to that and we had a moment of hilarity.
I’m watching Outlander episodes (two tonight) and so I am about done done done. Just started season 3.
June 8th, 2023 at 10:25 pm
I know too much about AQI due to our wildfire smoke these past years. As my late husband’s oncologist told him, “The lungs never forget.” So any smoke or particulate matter that gets in there can do permanent damage. When (not if) we get the smoke back, I’ll be wearing my best N95 if I have to go out–and will be whining A LOT. I hate being cooped up inside!