dusty Bonnaroo air

No, that’s not smog. It’s all the dry, dusty dirt drifting everywhere I go here at Bonnaroo. It’s in my hair, covering my shoes, and stuck to every drop of sweat on my body. That I can deal with …

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The problem is that it’s also in my eyes, my nose, my lungs. I came here perfectly healthy, and I’ll be going home with itchy eyes, a stuffed up nose, a dry throat, congested lungs, and a not-so-sexy cough.

Roo-goers are holding kerchiefs, t-shirts, towels — anything they can get their hands on — over their faces and wearing sunglasses as dust goggles, but you just can’t escape it.

I’m headed home today, back to the relatively clean air of Seattle. But this experience really makes me think about cities like Beijing and Hong Kong that are smoggy, respiratory nightmares most of the time. I’m getting choked up just thinking about it …