The Burning Bed
What's the one word you dread hearing when you're relaxing at home on a Saturday evening? No matter what you think it is, I can guarantee you'll change your mind when I tell you what I think. It's FIRE. Oh yes. No matter what you're doing at that moment, your heart stops, and you mind races when you hear that being yelled at you from outside. Our condo is in a very nice complex. Gated, secure, fenced in with a 10-foot high wood fence. Directly behind us is a miniature forest. Trees, ivy, bushes, etc. And on the other side of that is a huge field. We love the privacy it affords. What we do NOT love is the fact that there are homeless people living on the other side of the fence, at the end of the building, where the fields come right up to us. We have been trying to get rid of these creeps for a couple of months now. Turns out they are waiting by the security gate, and running in behind the cars, to partake of our veritable Eden. Ick. We only realized they were there when they started showing up in our pool, sauna, and hot tub. Double ick.
Apparently, having nothing better to do today, one moron over there decided to smoke crack, and set his mattress on fire. The smoke was billowing so high, and the fire was racing through the field so fast, that the voice we heard yelling "Fire!" wasn't even anyone from our condo complex. It was a concerned shopper at COSTCO, waaaaaaay across the fields, standing in the parking lot. Sound carries here, and we all heard him and went racing onto our balconies, praying the warning wasn't for us. Shit. We could see the smoke. It was for us. We threw both cats into one big carrier, and into the back of our SUV, followed by our dog. I smashed out the glass for the fire extinguisher, and ran it over to the fence. One resident was straddling the fence, and spraying it down. He had already been through 3 canisters. We could see the flames peeking through the wood slats, and coming within an inch of our ivy. My girlfriend was on the phone with 9-1-1, and within 5 minutes, there were fire trucks on both sides of us. They quickly hosed down the flaming bed and fields, and everyone sat around mingling and asking the police if NOW they were going to do something about the homeless camp.
So, the weird thing is, about a week ago, my girlfriend and I were lying in bed talking about random shit. I brought up the subject of fires, since we live at the base of a mountain, and it gets dry up there. The big question was, "After the animals, what one thing would you grab out of the house if it was on fire?" Well, we pondered, and discussed sentimental things like photos that can't be replaced, and expensive things like dvd's and jewelry we could sell if we lost everything. But the question really couldn't be answered in a calm, retrospective atmosphere like that. I wondered what we would REALLY grab in the event of a true blaze. Today, when I went back to my car to unload our animals and backpacks, I found out. There, in the front seat of the car, were the only 2 other things we had time to grab:
My favorite pair of Armani sunglasses, and my girlfriend's make-up kit.
Everything we own may go up in flames, but hot damn, we'll look good when the fire crew gets here!
Apparently, having nothing better to do today, one moron over there decided to smoke crack, and set his mattress on fire. The smoke was billowing so high, and the fire was racing through the field so fast, that the voice we heard yelling "Fire!" wasn't even anyone from our condo complex. It was a concerned shopper at COSTCO, waaaaaaay across the fields, standing in the parking lot. Sound carries here, and we all heard him and went racing onto our balconies, praying the warning wasn't for us. Shit. We could see the smoke. It was for us. We threw both cats into one big carrier, and into the back of our SUV, followed by our dog. I smashed out the glass for the fire extinguisher, and ran it over to the fence. One resident was straddling the fence, and spraying it down. He had already been through 3 canisters. We could see the flames peeking through the wood slats, and coming within an inch of our ivy. My girlfriend was on the phone with 9-1-1, and within 5 minutes, there were fire trucks on both sides of us. They quickly hosed down the flaming bed and fields, and everyone sat around mingling and asking the police if NOW they were going to do something about the homeless camp.
So, the weird thing is, about a week ago, my girlfriend and I were lying in bed talking about random shit. I brought up the subject of fires, since we live at the base of a mountain, and it gets dry up there. The big question was, "After the animals, what one thing would you grab out of the house if it was on fire?" Well, we pondered, and discussed sentimental things like photos that can't be replaced, and expensive things like dvd's and jewelry we could sell if we lost everything. But the question really couldn't be answered in a calm, retrospective atmosphere like that. I wondered what we would REALLY grab in the event of a true blaze. Today, when I went back to my car to unload our animals and backpacks, I found out. There, in the front seat of the car, were the only 2 other things we had time to grab:
My favorite pair of Armani sunglasses, and my girlfriend's make-up kit.
Everything we own may go up in flames, but hot damn, we'll look good when the fire crew gets here!