Sorry I've not been on here I awhile, guys -- I've had a number of personal crises, climaxing with the loss of our home two weeks ago in a fire.
As a reporter, I covered hundreds of fires during my career, but nothing can really prepare you for being in the middle of one. My family and I (as well as the assistant caregiver we brought in to help my wife out with our daughter and my illness plus her family) were splitting a huge two level rental house that caught fire about 5 a.m. on the 30th. I cannot stress how close all 7 of us came to dying -- the firefighters were astonished that any of us got out, much less all of us plus our pets! Not a single smoke detector worked, and the house was heavily involved on both floors when we were awakened by the folks in the basement screaming that they were going to die. Another minute or two and none of us would have gotten out, and I still cannot stop thinking about how close my 11year old daughter and wife came to dying (the night before, in fact, we'd had a dozen kids over for her birthday slumber party, which sends chills up my spine whenever I think of what might have happened). Our caregiver suffered 2nd and 3rd degree burns and is being treated at Vanderbilt's burn center, but the rest of us suffered comparatively minor burns, cuts, bruises, etc. It was, in a word, horrible but also a miracle at the same time.
The shock has had some time to wear off, and while we will always be grateful for our survival we are nonetheless beginning to take stock of our losses. We will be able to salvage some things because three rooms suffered only smoke, water and heat damage but we've apparently lost our clothes, soft furnishings, all kitchen contents, and perhaps my book collection (which I value more highly than anything else I own). My pipes seem to have made it through the fire okay, even if they all now smell like Latakia (apparently "housefire" is very close to "campfire"). But I DID lose nearly 200 mason jars full of tobacco, much of it vintage and/or well aged favorites! The fire started in the basement, so that part of my "cellar" didn't stand a chance. Worse still, we didn't have renters insurance (my wife let it lapse sometime over the last few months as we've desperately tried to cut pennies from our budget), but I don't suppose it matters when it came to the tobacco since no insurance company is going to pay me $100 for a few ounces of Penzance. The investigators are apparently ruling that it was an accident most likely caused by a cigarette in ment apartment where our caretaker lived, which just goes to show you cannot be too careful!
Oh, well -- as I said, the important thing is that we are alive and have already found a new place to live (it's considerably more modest in every respect, which is just fine since we need to cut costs to get back on our feet). Plus, we obviously don't need as much room as we used to!
Anyhow, enough of my bitching -- things could have been so, so much worse yet through some miracle we came through. Not to be sappy, but give your loved ones a little extra attention and reflect on how much they mean to you, because you could lose each other at any time. Like most guys, I've been guilty of taking them for granted sometimes, but I don't think that will ever be a problem again!
As a reporter, I covered hundreds of fires during my career, but nothing can really prepare you for being in the middle of one. My family and I (as well as the assistant caregiver we brought in to help my wife out with our daughter and my illness plus her family) were splitting a huge two level rental house that caught fire about 5 a.m. on the 30th. I cannot stress how close all 7 of us came to dying -- the firefighters were astonished that any of us got out, much less all of us plus our pets! Not a single smoke detector worked, and the house was heavily involved on both floors when we were awakened by the folks in the basement screaming that they were going to die. Another minute or two and none of us would have gotten out, and I still cannot stop thinking about how close my 11year old daughter and wife came to dying (the night before, in fact, we'd had a dozen kids over for her birthday slumber party, which sends chills up my spine whenever I think of what might have happened). Our caregiver suffered 2nd and 3rd degree burns and is being treated at Vanderbilt's burn center, but the rest of us suffered comparatively minor burns, cuts, bruises, etc. It was, in a word, horrible but also a miracle at the same time.
The shock has had some time to wear off, and while we will always be grateful for our survival we are nonetheless beginning to take stock of our losses. We will be able to salvage some things because three rooms suffered only smoke, water and heat damage but we've apparently lost our clothes, soft furnishings, all kitchen contents, and perhaps my book collection (which I value more highly than anything else I own). My pipes seem to have made it through the fire okay, even if they all now smell like Latakia (apparently "housefire" is very close to "campfire"). But I DID lose nearly 200 mason jars full of tobacco, much of it vintage and/or well aged favorites! The fire started in the basement, so that part of my "cellar" didn't stand a chance. Worse still, we didn't have renters insurance (my wife let it lapse sometime over the last few months as we've desperately tried to cut pennies from our budget), but I don't suppose it matters when it came to the tobacco since no insurance company is going to pay me $100 for a few ounces of Penzance. The investigators are apparently ruling that it was an accident most likely caused by a cigarette in ment apartment where our caretaker lived, which just goes to show you cannot be too careful!
Oh, well -- as I said, the important thing is that we are alive and have already found a new place to live (it's considerably more modest in every respect, which is just fine since we need to cut costs to get back on our feet). Plus, we obviously don't need as much room as we used to!
Anyhow, enough of my bitching -- things could have been so, so much worse yet through some miracle we came through. Not to be sappy, but give your loved ones a little extra attention and reflect on how much they mean to you, because you could lose each other at any time. Like most guys, I've been guilty of taking them for granted sometimes, but I don't think that will ever be a problem again!