Remember the line from that song…”Sometimes, all I need is the air that I breathe…”? Well, today is one of those days and the air reeks of smog and other burnt and burning things. The brown stuff is laying low in the valley, giving the sun a reddish, dim cast. If you’re an outdoor walker like me, you are probably already feeling the squeeze. It is a Spare the Air Day today, and when I heard the report on the radio, I raised my eyebrows. September? I hope we get some rain soon to clear the air. If you live here, you know that our geography is ripe for bad air, thanks to the inversion layer of air that caps this valley like a dome. And if that dome is full of the offal of field fires and truck puffs, it gets pushed right down over your head like a hood. (And who was that guy on P Street using the leaf blower, kicking up a torrent of dust? There oughta be a law…!)

During my mid-morning walk, I admit to feeling sub par. But I did have a really cool, if odd, idea. Maybe those new twin towers they’re building on Capitol Mall will reach high enough to pierce a hole in the smog bubble and we’ll be able to breathe freely again. Or maybe not. It sure was a nice fantasy for my oxygen-deprived brain. Meanwhile, it serves as a reminder as to how precious the air is–and how essential. Dirty air. Affects. Us. All. Breathe in. Breathe out.