We were getting to the point that dinner was getting to be, okay, what do we have enough stuff left to make something with. I had bits of this, bits of that, but staples like, oh, bread, milk, salad, etc., were no longer in the house. So, being this was payday, I thought it better be shopping day, too.
Driving down the main drag, I realize people were pulled over on the side of the road, walking in the middle of the road, and there was lots of smoke. First thought, oh, crap, someone rolled it.
Wrong.
The brush by the side of the road was in FLAMES! I finally skirted my way through, taking quick inventory, and decided it was way past a quick douse with an extinguisher. Like, the power pole was on fire... And the lower trees.
Cell phone, don't fail me now...
"911, what is your emergency?"
I told her where the fire was, while trying to avoid the dingwad lookie-loos that were STANDING IN THE ROAD to get a better view, and hoping that someone had called before me.
"We already have that reported and units are on their way. How extensive is the fire right now?"
I told her that the phone poles were catching, the trees were just starting. Dead silence. Great, the stupid phone died... "Hello?"
"Yes, ma'am, I am just typing the information you gave me..."
I then told her I was just checking, as I was on an iffy cell phone. She got the information she needed, and we disconnected.
The fire was on the same road my parents live on, so I warned them, and had to wait for the Incident Command vehicle, one other fire truck that I have no idea what was, the tanker, and one other fire truck to pass before I could leave. I went the OTHER way.
After an afternoon of shopping... (Shopping is a necessity, not a pleasure to me. I would prefer shopping to having a root canal... But not by a whole lot.) I dropped Mom off, (she'd come shopping with me as well), and headed back through.
I had the windows open, and the radio on, rather loudly, (255 air conditioning), and so I came to the fire zone. It was out, and the Power guys were busily setting a new pole. I went through slowly, and realized they were all smiling, giving me thumbs up, and so on.
Huh?
Then I registered what was on the radio.
Hunk of Burnin' Love, by Elvis Presley. Oh, Brother...
6 comments:
That was an emotioanl roller coaster of a ride post wise. First the angst of having to go grocery shopping! Arrgh!! And then the thrill and the fear of the fire!
And then the laugh at the end! Too funny! Thanks for my morning laugh, I really needed that!:-)
Yes, well, it was truly interesting at THIS end, too!
(Trust me, I was there!) Heh...
Cat
Wow. That was awesome!! I wonder if that was the smoke I saw the other night on my way home from work. I heard about the cell fire the next day and figured that was probably it but it was a long ways away so I was not totally convinced.
Loved the laugh too. Thanks
Always glad to lend a grin!
Cat
I'm worried that if I ever had to call 911 from my cell it would be one of those times when I'm driving around lost and have no idea how to tell them where I'm at!
I know the feeling. When you are in a rural area like I am, the best bet is to give the nearest road, and about how far you are from it. I have had to call 911 a few times, and to say, oh, it's this and suches house, but you can't remember the address, it don't work, for some strange reason... And in this case, when you are trying to dodge looky loos in the road, watching mailboxes probably would lead to another 911 call.
"911 what is your emergency?"
"Uh, yeah, how do I remove a looky loo from the grill of my truck?"
"..."
(The sad part is that they've had MUCH stranger calls.)
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