LOS ANGELES – We gave a damn too late.
Sometimes, I think that will be the legacy of this generation. Or maybe I’m just tired of seeing people walking around without masks as if a pandemic had not taken almost 200,000 American lives. Then again, it could just be the smoke.
On a normal morning, the sky here is a metallic gray. Today, it is a queasy yellow. The sun is blurry and the air smells faintly like a backyard barbecue.
The Golden State is burning, dozens of wildfires charring its forests, darkening its skies. One fire, burning north of San Francisco, is being called the largest in California history. The previous record holder was just two years ago.
We have come here, my wife and I, for a family funeral. We drove because we didn’t want to end up wedged in an airline seat next to some MAGA hat-wearing COVID denier who thinks being required to wear a mask infringes her civil rights. But we could have saved ourselves the trouble, because from a restaurant in Missouri to a gas station in Arizona, maskless faces are unavoidable all across America. Indeed, some shoot dirty looks when you walk by with your face covered.