Fire and Ice

Tuesday morning we awoke to snow. About an inch had fallen. It was no surprise to as they had been predicting this snowfall for several days. What was a surprise was that schools in our county had been canceled by the 11:00 news on Monday night. Before any snow had fallen.

Being from Kansas, I find it hilarious the way the southerners deal with snow. They don't. Everyone stays home no matter how much snow falls. There is another reason they stay home. No one knows how to drive in snow and or ice. If you're smart, you stay home to avoid the stupid people who think they know how to drive in the winter weather.

Thursday afternoon, Larry and I were both working upstairs. He hollered at me and said, "There is smoke coming from Ta's house." When I looked out the upstairs window, I could see heavy smoke rolling from the back of the house. Seconds later, glass shattered and flames began shooting out the kitchen window. Also at that time, the fire department arrived. They had the fire out within ten minutes.

Fortunately, no one was hurt. Ta's dad, Ralph (I call him Papa Ta), was the only one home at the time. He put his lunch on the stove to warm then went into the living room and fell asleep. A smoke alarm went off waking Papa Ta and he got out of the house.

This is the second fire for this family. Several years ago, they had a house fire. Ralph about died in that fire. His leg was so badly burned he ended up losing it and now wears a prosthesis.

Ta came over late in the afternoon to ask if we would keep an eye on their house while they were away. The Red Cross would put them up in a motel for three days. After that, they will stay with family and friends until they can get the house repaired.

Ta seemed to be dealing with the situation well. He was telling us how the fire happened. He said, "My daddy heard the smoke alarm and he ran out of the house. I can't see my daddy runnin' but that's what he said." Larry and I had to laugh.

Larry got some really good pictures of the fire. They can be found on my Flickr page.