Character

 

Once there was this guy who wanted to be President. He had never been on my radar before, excepting a couple years when he pretended to be a bicycle race promoter. I thought his candidacy was a joke, I thought he was a joke. Then he started calling people names, denigrating them, and his supporters said "ha, that's great, he's got my vote. I thought, this guy has no character. Then, before a crowd of his supporters, he mocked a disabled man, and his supporters hooted and hollered, and said "ha, that's great, he's got my vote!" I thought, this guy has no character, and from that moment (if not earlier) I saw that this guy, who currently occupies the White House, was sorely deficient in honor and integrity. Since that time he has done nothing, absolutely nothing, to prove otherwise. In my lifetime I have seen few people so completely lacking in the qualities of good character.

As likely as not I tend to vote for a person based upon their strength of character. If a person is weak of integrity it shows through in everything they do. Everything. It is why I can have conservative friends - at the end of the day I know they would have my back as I would have theirs - their character shows through, no matter what political differences we might have.

On the other hand, do you know what does have an overabundance of character (at least tonight it did)? The sky. In case you missed it, here are a few photos. Regrettably, much of the color is due to the many fires, old and new, burning nearby.

a new little fire across the valley

Mount Baldy

Twin Peaks, one in shadow, the other still in sun

that blue smoke haze descending over the town