Saturday, June 21, 2008

I Smell Smoke

Karma -- Divine Intervention -- Pure Ass Luck. Pick which ever fits your life philosophy more and keep it in mind as I tell you a little story.

I'm made several mentions about how dry it has been here in the Texas Panhandle. heck I got excited about 3/10 on an inch of moisture over a two day period. But even with that tiny bit of rain the ground at my house was covered with dry, brittle buffalo, the mesquite trees were nothing more than kindling with roots, and the whole canyon where I live was a tinderbox.

Then last night the skies opened up and unleashed a downpour like we haven't had in at least a year. Nearly two inches of rain fell overnight. Granted we had high winds, a bit of hail and lots of thunder and lightning but we finally got the good soaking we needed.

And it couldn't have come at a better time. here's where the karma,/divine intervention/pure ass luck comes in.

This morning I woke to the sound of sirens and that is not a common sound out in the boonies where I live. I was a bit groggy after a night filled with puppy whines and trips out the the yard at dark thirty so it took a while for me to realize the sirens were close. REAL CLOSE!

I was getting dressed to investigate when my wife yelled, "There's huge fire right behind the house!"

I'm not a morning person but nothing gets the lead out like the a screaming wife yelling about a fire.

I made my way out through the mud and standing water in my yard. The smell of fire hung in the air.

There about a seventy yards away was a huge ball of flame. Not on my property but the one adjacent to the back of my three acres. The property HAD two structures. A large four bedroom house and a smaller half underground dwelling that was the original home on the site. The smaller structure had flames a good thirty feet into the air though they didn't last long as the firemen extinguished the blaze.

All in all the excitement didn't last long, but had we not had that rain the fire would have spread quickly and who knows what would have happened. Here's another tidbit that could be karma at work.

One of my other neighbors believes the resident at the burned location is none other than our neighborhood gas thief. I have no clue if this is true but it does make one stop and think.

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Speaking of fires, y'all all need to pop over to Christine Eldin's new blog, Book Roast. The blog is going to be happening place where readers will have a chance to interact and ask published authors questions,s o if you are a reader, a writers, or just a curious blogger stop by this next week and check it out. And while you are blog hopping, check out Chris's regular blog here.

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In the comments of my last post fellow blogger Packsaddle wrote a little ode in regards to the new puppy. I pasted it here in case you missed it in the comments. His words certainly made me smile

Hi my name is Sharky
But y'all can just call me Shark
I would say Hi back to you
But I don't know how to bark
I'd like to thank the Erwin family
For saving me from an untimely death
I will always remember their kindness
Every time I take a breath
I really hope the boys like me
I will learn to fetch, heel, and roll
And I hope Uncle Travis doesn't get mad
When I pee on his fishing pole
Yes I'll do some bad things
Like digging under the fence barrier
I just hope they don't get any crazy ideas
Like trading me for a freakin' Terrier.
I'm ready for a life of fun
But it's important that we all agree
There will never be mention of the word
C-A-S-T-R-A-T-E

Stop by his blog and give him kudos for his mad poetry skills.

15 comments:

Katrina said...

Travis, I am SO glad you and your family are okay!! God definitely was looking out for you! A day before and your house would not be standing. We have been so dry that the cracks in the ground could swallow up a rabbit.

Here in Canyon we got 4 1/2" of rain. Every little dip & gully(that's a Texas word, I do believe) filled up and hopefully those cracks in the earth closed up too. I've noticed fewer rabbits this year and my theory was the cracks swallowed them up. ??

Anyways, you better make an appearance in church tomorrow! You need to send the man upstairs a huge thank you!

yellowdoggranny said...

ahh, the Goddess works in mysterious ways...

Patti said...

this gave me the shivers as i know the tinderbox ways you speak of. thank god...literally...for that rain. and if it was the thief, man, talk about karma--divine intervention---pure ass luck!

Linda McLaughlin said...

Wow, Travis, that was good luck or karma or whatever. It's real dry here in Calif., too, and I think we're going to have a bad fire season.

Hope the puppy settles down soon. Loved the poem. :)

Linda

Barbara Martin said...

Glad to hear everyone in your family is all right. That must have been some scare. But, the good rhing is the rain received. Here's hoping you see more of it this year. Divine intervention for you Travis, most certainly, and everyone else who lives nearby.

Sharky misses his warm siblings, poor guy. The puppy cries should be over by Monday or Tuesday.

Charles Gramlich said...

That is Karma about the rain coming right before the fire. I'm so glad you didn't have any problems. I was worried here since it had been very dry for several weeks, but yesterday and today both we got soaking rains so I feel better.

Chris Eldin said...

Travis, wtf kind of segue!!?!!!

From a serious fire to the roast. You are twisted, but funny!

I'm glad nobody was hurt. Fire scares me. I would've panicked, even though it wasn't on my property.

preTzel said...

I'm so glad that everything is alright with you, your family, and your property. I wish Mr. would respond to FIRE the way you did. Hell, I could barely get him to move. Asswipe. I think he thought I was kidding around - I wasn't. The damn dryer caught fire. By the time he rolled out of bed and went to check it had smothered because I shut the door on it.

He found a "star" something or other that was touching the heating element and something else and said it was fine. I had a new washer and dryer by 9 that night. :)

Want me to ask the Iowa governor if he will send some Iowa flood water your way? We have plenty to spare. ;)

Lexi said...

Great poem! Glad you, your family and your property are safe.

Beatrice, Bea, Bibi--That's me! said...

I'm glad you and the family were ok. I can totally relate as we had our shed in backyard burn down in mid November. You are right, nothing gets you moving quicker than someone yelling FIRE at 2:30 am.

How's life with new puppy?
The good Lord takes good care of us!

Nan Higginson said...

Travis,

When the Texas fires showed up on our NY/Long Island TV screen, you were the person I thought of and wished well. You and your family, and all the good folk around you.

I love the idea that Mother Nature doesn't take kindly to the evil folks amongst us. Hope no one was injured, especially the fire fighters. Hope your neighbor got a wake-up call that moves him to better choices in his battle with the nation's economic problems.

In other words, glad you were safe. Glad he got a taste of Hell fire!

I'll mention you to the other gals at WomenOfMystery.net. We all try to keep an eye on the good bloggers we know, and you're up at the top end of our list.

Terrie Farley Moran said...

Travis,

Nan sent out the word among the women of mystery about your close call. I am so happy that you and Jen and the boys are all okay. Karma is your friend.

Terrie

debra said...

So glad you're all ok, Travis. What a sobering night! How about the gas thief? Is he ok, too?

Lyzzydee said...

I am so pleased that you had the down pour that preserved your property and life, even better if it was the 'thief' what goes around comes around!!

Lana Gramlich said...

OMG! I'm glad y'all were spared. I have to say, sometimes I have concerns about living in the middle of a pine forest w/o a fire department or even a fire plug within miles...