Not over yet, but there is hope

Rain is in the forecast, beginning (perhaps, we hope) around midnight. I think I'll stay up for it. It's like the arrival of a lover. I pace, peer out the window, distract myself and look at the clock to find it's only four minutes since the last time I looked. 

Thank you for your empathetic comments, rain dances, and encouragement. My groceries did come, and I thanked the delivery man for risking his life to bring them. "Oh no worries," he assured me, "by the time death comes for me, I won't even remember this." 

I hope he's right, and I hope this is the last of the smokescapes I'll post for a while. Perhaps by Monday I can open the windows again. Only regime change will address the issues.

Update at 1 a.m. No rain yet. I guess I'll just go to bed. Maybe the rain will wake me up, tapping at the window. It could happen. 

Update at 9:30 a.m Friday Very light rain overnight, more expected today, but the air still looks and smells horrible, and the official index still says "Unhealthy," though that is orange on the chart, as compared with "Very Unhealthy," red, and "Hazardous" (as it has been most of the past week), maroon. I haven't seen Sue for the past 11 days, and I'm going to drive through the muck to her house.