Hello. Just sitting here on a Wednesday morning, sipping coffee in disbelief, staring at my screen. An historic island town in flames, a town that I knew since childhood – Mom is from Maui – and last visited in 2016. I’m glad that my grandparents aren’t alive to witness the apocalyptic nightmare and its tragic outcomes taking place a half-hour drive away from their home in Kahului.

R.I.P. Lahaina Town, and those who’ve died in the disaster. Gratitude and strength to the first responders – and others – risking their lives to save others. My heart goes out to all who’ve been impacted.

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Thursday morning now. Drinking coffee in continued disbelief, looking at footage showing what’s left of Lahaina, which is virtually nothing. No words. No words on Day Two of the destruction of Maui homes, businesses, and entire communities, with a rising body count and hundreds more missing.

My brain and emotional bandwidth are maxed out, so I flip over to YouTube, where I watch a blessedly mundane Halloween décor hunting vlog uploaded by one of my favorite content creators. Our cat Sabrina – indeed, she’s been as yet unintroduced! – hops up on the counter to see what I’m watching. She matches the image paused on my screen. She matches my coffee mug, too. Every day is Halloween.

Three of my favorite things: cat, coffee, skull – check, check, check.

The short story: Kyle moves in with his cat, Roary; it’s proven that Roary and Nenette cannot co-exist; high-octane Roary needs a playmate; enter Sabrina, a rescue from our neighborhood shelter.

Speaking of rescue animals, the Maui Humane Society is overwhelmed with its influx of wildfire animal refugees and casualties, animals in desperate need of shelter and medical care, food and supplies. If you’re on the mainland and you wish to help, please do so here.

Thank you, friends.

Let’s stay safe.