It was an evening straight out of hell in North St. Paul, MN. Burning grass, burning wood, burning paper, a chemical odor, more burning wood and burning that smelled like a house fire is what we were treated to courtesy of the idiots on the city council (Bob Bruton, Jan Walczak, Terry Furlong, and whoever the new guy is who won Dave Zick's seat) who make us breathe this toxic polluted air. To start things, we had to endure smoldering remnants of the prior evening's burning.
6:30 AM: Faint smoldering wood smoke is in the air. What a way to wake up first thing in the morning. North St. Paul is a horrible place to live.
5:00 PM: No smoke yet. Nobody burned yard waste yet today, which is unusual for this town. 83 degrees and sunny, a beautiful summer day.
7:00 PM: No smoke yet.
7:45 PM: A very faint trace of some type of smoke is in the air.
8:05 PM: Very faint to faint grass smoke. Somewhere somebody is illegally burning yard waste. Again. This is the worst year for yard waste burning since we have lived in this shitty nightmare city.
8:15 PM: Light to moderate wood smoke. Very smoky air on a beautiful evening to sit outside. Isn't that nice?
8:45 PM: Moderate wood smoke and paper or cardboard smoke. It's a shame that North St. Paul is such a horrible place to live because the temperature is dropping and it would be nice to open the windows! 75 degrees at this time.
9:15 PM: Moderate paper or cardboard smoke. Somebody is burning waste. Again.
9:40 PM: Now there is a smoky chemical smell in the air. What kind of toxic waste is being burned now? This city is run by idiots! I would have never in my wildest nightmares thought that any city would force its citizens to breathe air pollution like this. Welcome to North St. Paul, MN, Hell on Earth.
10:00 PM: Moderate wood smoke that smells like a burning house. This is not just logs being burned. The air is cool outside. We should be able to open the windows but will not be able to until morning. I hate this city.
11:00 PM: Moderate to strong wood smoke and something that smells like a burning house. Extremely smoky. I wish city council member Bob Bruton would read this blog. I would love to tell him what an asshole he is for making us breathe this polluted air. He supports this burning. He told me so in an email. Even with all the windows closed the smoke is still getting in. You are an asshole, Bob.
Midnight: Moderate to strong wood and whatever else is being burned smoke. It is going to be a long, smoky night in North St. Paul.
The air was smoky all night long and a smoldering smokiness could be smelled in the air beyond noon Sunday morning.
Do you want to live in a city like this?