Let me just preface this by saying that what happened here in my community was nothing compared to some of the things that have occurred in other parts of the country, as well as the world for that matter. If you have the ability please don’t hesitate to do whatever you can to help the victims of these numerous disasters. I will definitely be doing something. If you need directions to such a worthy cause please go here. This group of bloggers is doing incredible things that will make a huge difference in Joplin. Go Go Go!
My guess is that at some point in everyone’s lives, they have had to, or will eventually have to decide what is worth saving. What loss cannot be borne. In the case where one’s home might go up in flames, quick decisions must be made. What to take and what to leave behind.
When I walked into my back yard and saw the menacing sight above, I immediately had to make that list and make it count. In all honesty I believe this fire was no more than an overpass and a few short blocks away from my house.
When you read this next little bit, don’t think that I wasn’t worried or that I don’t know this could have been much much worse than it was. Believe me, I am not trying to make light of it. I’m just going for honesty here.
Here’s what I ran for the car with (in this order):
1) The 3 Kids – None of whom were wearing any pants or shoes. Well, I didn’t exactly have shoes on either. Forget the shoes!
2) Carton of Cigs – Duh.
3) iPhone – Seriously? I am working on getting three stars in all the Angry Birds Rio levels.
4) Camera – That thing was expensive, yo!
5) Laptop and power cord – I almost forgot and had to go back in the house to get it. Something like 15,000 pictures.
As I mentally went through my entire house, room by room, I decided there wasn’t really anything that couldn’t be replaced that was worth risking lives over. All the things that I did make it to the car with were pretty handy at the time.
We took off to my mom’s house. She has a pool, so if push came to shove we would just swim. Right. Anyway, as soon as I got there one thing popped into my head. I hadn’t thought of my $3,000 wedding album which was handmade in Italy. That could not be replaced. I wanted to go back so bad, but practical ol’ Mom wouldn’t let me. Yes, I have the husband in the flesh which is way more important than pictures, but STILL!
I want to send out a heartfelt thank you to all the brave men and women who battled the fires, saved countless lives and homes, and saved many a wedding album. From the bottom of my heart, THANK YOU.
If you were forced out of your home do you know what you would save?
Source
Above is a shot from downtown which I stole from one of the online local newspapers. Don’t worry, I’m giving credit where credit is due.
So, being down in that smoke was pretty scary. It was named the CEED Fire. Over 4,000 acres burned and not one home or life was lost. Amazing.
{ 12 comments… read them below or add one }
Wow. That’s got to be scary. I’m so glad you’re OK.
I like to think that I would be able to grab the pictures and jewelry that meant the most to me but in all honesty, everything is so scattered around my house, I’d only get half of what I wanted.
Yeah, it was pretty frightening. But at least we were lucky in that we had plenty of warning. Some are not so lucky.
OH!! I would have never thought about my jewelry but that would have been a HUGE loss. I guess you can tell I’m pretty scattered, too!
My Small Boy, my laptop, my old photos, my jewelry (all in the safe together) and the dogs.
CDG recently posted..Wild Turkey
Your Small Boy and dogs are in the safe? Bwahahaha!
Love you. Forgive my snark.
I can handle your snark.
And I’ve had one of those weeks that make me want to put the Small Boy and the dogs in the safe for a few minutes of peace!
CDG recently posted..Over In the Meadow
I’ve had one of those weeks as well. I’m blaming my circumstance on the fact that the kids are out of “school” for the summer. We are all stuck here in the dryness and the heat together with no breaks from each other. We are all getting a bit crabby.
As soon as you get the chance you should demand 30 minutes to an hour of “you time.” I know it would do me a world of good.
Oh my! That would be nerve-wracking to say the least! Thank goodness you guys are OK!
liz recently posted..Pause Life for a Moment
I am so so glad things didn’t take a turn for the worse!
wow. this really makes you think. I know I would have also grabbed my phone…that’s the day we live in, phones are lifelines. thank goodness you’re all fine and your house is in tact. homes are just homes and completely replaceable (at a cost), but they are also our safe personal space and losing a home must just be a devastating loss. i think i’d take all my photos (old 1800 photos of family esp) if it didn’t risk my life. good post. glad you’re all well
It really does make you think about things you wouldn’t otherwise consider. Such a weird feeling.
And thank goodness I’m not the one in charge of the old photos yet. In the same situation I would be carrying lots and lots of VERY heavy boxes!
Hmmm, I probably wouldn’t have been able to find my phone, so I would probably go for my children, laptops, and the photo albums. I probably would have forgotten the cash stuffed in my hubby’s nightstand or the external harddrive with all the pics on it! Good thing I haven’t yet had to do this for real. I wa in San Diego as a student during a huge fire. We had ash raining down on us but ince the new told us to stay put we stayed. The sky was ashy and looked just like that photo. But we were students, so….as long as we had beer we thougth we were fine! Ay, youth!
You know, I’m really lucky my phone was attached to my hand at the time. Isn’t it funny how when you need something really bad it’s nowhere to be found? I have a severe issue with my car keys. I think they have legs
Yep. Youth. I always had that invincibility complex, too. Silly, silly kids. Thank goodness we survived our adolescence!