first fire

It was raining HARD again today. I got up and spent a leisurely time, then went out for an hour walk, then came back and chilled and thought about doing Pilates. Upon finishing Pilates the phone rang.

Crap. A Minnesota phone number. Susan was asked not to give out my new number!

But no, it wasn't anybody I'm hiding from. It was Jake from the Red Cross and there was a fire.

"How soon will you be here? Give me 15 minutes."

I still smelled like tequila and a body other than mine - I definitely had to shower.

I'm pleased that I can shower and be fully ready in 9.5 minutes. My running to the shower while ripping off my clothes must have sounded funny to the neighbor.

We crossed the bridge (I'm so glad he was driving) and arrived to see where an apartment's kitchen had been destroyed. It was a simple response - maybe made that way because Jake rocks. He knows just how to ask the questions and to move through everything expeditiously. The family was really nice. Fortunately only their kitchen was destroyed - everything else was fine. But we got them some emergency aid for food which could help them out.

So, first fire down. In the pouring rain, but not in the middle of the night. An unfortunate but not disastrous situation.

When Jake drove me back, the old men who hang out on the corner were being total cards when they saw the van, and when I got out Dodo and his cousin Cam interrogated me on where I had been and why.

I love my neighborhood.