catch-22

One of the ironies of living in an area completely surrounded by mountains is that you find yourself hoping for a big winter storm.

No, that's not a joke. You see, the drawback to living in a valley is that the air gets trapped in the valley (inversion) and the air quality gets really bad. The only way to clean the air is to have a good storm.

Currently the air quality is so bad that it's rated as a "red" day meaning you are not supposed to be outside. The schools keep the students in for recess and they encourage you to exercise indoors. That brings the second catch-22. Do I stay indoors and suffer the ill-health consequences of a sedentary lifestyle or do I go running and inhale lots of poor, gunky, dangerous air?

I guess you could say "I'm dreaming of a white Christmas!"