Fire
It's been a week since I've updated the site, mainly because I haven't really been near a computer for the majority of the time.
We went camping at Spirit Mountain in Duluth with the Kampen family last Thursday and came home Sunday. We ate like kings, drank like kings, played games, did some sight-seeing, but mostly sat around the campfire and solved the world's problems. We had a great time and it was wonderful to get away from computers and telephones and enjoy some fresh air for a few days. There were no mosquitoes, the weather was perfect for a change (a little windy, but I won't complain) and Lake Superior was as beautiful as ever. It was a great weekend.
We got home Sunday and Jon and Sara were none the worse for wear after taking care of two spastic two year-olds for three days -- and if they were the worse for wear, they never let it show! Beth and I are so grateful that they came all this way so we could take a little vacation, and we made the most of it.
On Sunday night, though, we had a few scary moments. After we got home I was sitting watching a baseball game in the living room and I heard a loud "boom!" It didn't sound like a firecracker, it was more of an explosion. About 30 seconds later I heard another loud "boom!" When we went out the backyard to see what the heck was going on, we saw I huge plume of black smoke just beyond our trees to the east and there were sparks shooting hundreds of feet into the air. I told Beth that something was very wrong and I grabbed the keys and jumped in my car and she called 911. When I rounded the corner of our street, I could see through the trees that a house was burning just a block away from our home, and neighbors were running down the street to help. I pulled the car off the street and started running, just as a police car pulled up with his lights on. Someone was yelling that everyone was out of the house and the fire department was on the way. There was really nothing we could do but watching this horrible, sickening sight of someone's home burning.
The good news is the fire started in the garage and the fire department was able to contain it before it completely destroyed the house, so at least the family was able to save those things that were not replaceable... but those few minutes when I didn't know if someone was trapped in the house, or if someone needed help were pretty frightening. I'm not sure what I would have done, but it was really uplifting to see so many people come to the aid of a neighbor so fast, without any regard to their own safety. It almost restored some of my faith in humanity.
So that was our excitement for the week, and that's more than enough, thankyouverymuch.
Now I am back to work once again. Back to the grind, but really looking forward to my next weekend off. We are rehearsing at the farm and it is going to be great to strike up the band again.
I will log in again in a few days. I'll see you then.
We went camping at Spirit Mountain in Duluth with the Kampen family last Thursday and came home Sunday. We ate like kings, drank like kings, played games, did some sight-seeing, but mostly sat around the campfire and solved the world's problems. We had a great time and it was wonderful to get away from computers and telephones and enjoy some fresh air for a few days. There were no mosquitoes, the weather was perfect for a change (a little windy, but I won't complain) and Lake Superior was as beautiful as ever. It was a great weekend.
We got home Sunday and Jon and Sara were none the worse for wear after taking care of two spastic two year-olds for three days -- and if they were the worse for wear, they never let it show! Beth and I are so grateful that they came all this way so we could take a little vacation, and we made the most of it.
On Sunday night, though, we had a few scary moments. After we got home I was sitting watching a baseball game in the living room and I heard a loud "boom!" It didn't sound like a firecracker, it was more of an explosion. About 30 seconds later I heard another loud "boom!" When we went out the backyard to see what the heck was going on, we saw I huge plume of black smoke just beyond our trees to the east and there were sparks shooting hundreds of feet into the air. I told Beth that something was very wrong and I grabbed the keys and jumped in my car and she called 911. When I rounded the corner of our street, I could see through the trees that a house was burning just a block away from our home, and neighbors were running down the street to help. I pulled the car off the street and started running, just as a police car pulled up with his lights on. Someone was yelling that everyone was out of the house and the fire department was on the way. There was really nothing we could do but watching this horrible, sickening sight of someone's home burning.
The good news is the fire started in the garage and the fire department was able to contain it before it completely destroyed the house, so at least the family was able to save those things that were not replaceable... but those few minutes when I didn't know if someone was trapped in the house, or if someone needed help were pretty frightening. I'm not sure what I would have done, but it was really uplifting to see so many people come to the aid of a neighbor so fast, without any regard to their own safety. It almost restored some of my faith in humanity.
So that was our excitement for the week, and that's more than enough, thankyouverymuch.
Now I am back to work once again. Back to the grind, but really looking forward to my next weekend off. We are rehearsing at the farm and it is going to be great to strike up the band again.
I will log in again in a few days. I'll see you then.
