For days — far too many days — we have read about the wildfires tearing through the Los Angeles area, turning entire neighborhoods into piles of ash, destroying the lives of thousands of residents . . . and tragically taking others.

We have heard and read and viewed the heartbreaking stories of people suddenly homeless, their precious memories and belongings — collected over a lifetime — taken from them in moments.

And we have heard from those who waste no time expounding on their theories of who is to blame: the Governor of California, the water authority, or some mythical god on Mount Olympus.

I am a lifelong East Coast resident; I know nothing about the water situation in California. I’m not a firefighter, and I have no inkling of the best way to handle or prevent these out-of-control wildfires that seem to strike California more than anywhere else in the country. And I certainly don’t know who or what created the first spark that started this particular conflagration.

But I do know one thing . . . something that has gotten far too little attention in the news . . . and that is the fact that we owe a huge debt of gratitude to our neighbors to the north and south — Canada and Mexico — for jumping in with air tankers, firefighters and technicians to help extinguish the blazes and save as much of the region as possible. [Adeel Hassan, New York Times, January 11, 2025.]

This is what neighbors and friends do for one another. And they do it in spite of border disputes, threatened tariffs, or hard feelings about other issues. They do it because they are good people . . . and because it is the right thing to do.

So, though mine is just one small voice in the wilderness, let me say here: Thank you, Canada. Thank you, Mexico.

Thank you, thank you, thank you!

Just sayin’ . . .

Brendochka
1/12/25