Where There's Smoke...

Smoke on the horizon is almost always a harbinger of bad news.

The Colonel and I had just pulled into our driveway when we smelled acrid smoke on the breeze as it swept into the open windows of the truck. At first we thought it might be the engine of the truck, but when we jumped out the smell was all around us and not confined to the truck's engine. Satisfied that the truck was not going to burst into flames, we went into the house, still wondering where the smell was coming from.

Not two minutes later we heard sirens and saw flashing lights turn onto our road. The firetruck raced past our house and then we raced outside to follow it. We got back into the truck and hit the road.

We kept our eyes to the horizon as we drove, spotted smoke there and wondered which neighbor's house was on fire. Each house that we passed that was not aflame brought us relief from concern over that neighbor and their possible misfortune.

The house that was burning belonged to a family we do not know personally, but we have driven past their house on numerous occasions. Their immediate neighbor, who returned home from work to make sure the flames did not affect his house, told us that the fire department had been to the burning house yesterday. It seems there had been a small fire then which was thought to be contained and put out. Apparently the fire had still been smoldering somewhere inside the house. Scary to think that the fire was smoldering as the homeowners were slumbering in their beds last night. I do not know that I would have gotten much sleep that night if it were me. I don't believe anyone was in the house when the fire broke out again today. I think they were all away at work.

It is always terrible to see a disaster like this happen to anyone. A lifetime of things gone in a fiery flash. These events should serve to remind us that the real things that matter are not things, but people. People cannot be replaced like a Sanyo stereo or a Prada pantsuit can.