Smoke Signals

As hard as it is to imagine in this day and age,
human beings used to gather wood, climb to the
top of a tall hill, and with a damp blanket, and
a steady fire, communicate to a person on another
hill.
I wonder if they had trouble with mixed messages?
After all, just how do you read smoke?
Is there a smoke manual?
Do you look for a calm day when there isn't
any wind, and no rain in the forecast?
Do you wait till your certain they're ready to
signal back, kindling and blanket at the ready?
Well, in the modern world, we do it all the time
with email.
We type out messages, and hit send.
Into the ether your words go and where they land,
sometimes you just don't know..
Or why you hit send in the first place..
And like in the days of yore, sometimes the modern
method of sending an important message isn't any
clearer than if you were standing on a hill with
a wet blanket..