Fire

On Saturday we were on our way home from the beach. We dropped off our Dear Kenz and as we left her neighborhood we discussed if we should go home or keep driving to keep Lilia asleep. We opted to keep driving when we noticed a huge plume of smoke. We couldn't tell where it was coming from. So we drove toward it. I know how incredibly stupid this is to do. I know that I could get in the way of rescue workers. Well it was pretty easy to find. Much to our demise it was not in a wooded area as we first thought. It was a home already burnt to the ground on one side.

The crazy thing was there were so many people going to see what was going on and getting out of their cars and just watching. From the amount of people in the street you would think there was a street fair of some sort. I'll be honest I did get out of the car for a minute to peak around the corner. That was it though one minute. I don't want to be there in the way or gawking at some one else's loss. At this point you don't know if there has been a loss of life. So we drove away and I said to Paul, we should like do something for those people.

Yesterday we drove past again after things settle down. Confirming it was not the house of someone we knew. I had read in the paper that while no humans perished a dog and some birds did. Very sad. As we drove past the family was outside sorting through what was salvageable. I felt like an ass for driving past. Beyond that though I wanted to do something for them. I mean they just lost all their material possessions. This is where it gets tricky because what do you do. The people sorting through things seemed to be like a mom and maybe two teenage girls. So my head went racing. We were on our way to Target and I was obsessive I felt horrible for these people. Your house and your pets all in one day. I mean I don't know how other people feel but I think my pets would upset me way more than my house. Anyhow we went through the options. We could drop off some water and lunch. We could send a gift card to a store like Target or Walmart that has so many different items because they need everything. We could stop and ask what we could do. We feared though in that overwhelming moment we would be a bother and not a help. So we settled on let's think about it.

When you look at it gets socially awkward to offer a stranger help even if that is really what you want to do. In our hearts we wanted to stop and do something to help these people it didn't matter that we do not know who they are. Yet it did because it has made us hesitant to do something. It is awkward to say hey do you need some lunch? I wish it wasn't so. If it was your best friend you would just show up with lunch because you already know what they eat and what they need. All I am left with is my human instinct. We came with in two inches of stopping and dropping off water but decided against it as we didn't know if they would still be there. I mean we had it in the cart.

So what does one do in this situation. I am half tempted to go over there this morning and talk to someone. Or leave a note or something. I still am left feeling compelled to do something. I can't shake it. So I am going to go face the awkwardness of it all. It is after all for the human good. If nothing else I can send a gift card to the address as I know mail will get forwarded. I will keep you updated as to what we decide to do.

Now another thought. This is the third destructive house fire I know of in town this summer. This isn't the norm around here. I am wondering if there is a correlation between economic hardship and house fires. I mean I don't even know if economic hardship existed in any of these homes. It's just a thought. Paul also mentioned you see more fires in cities so it would make sense because normally cities are more economically pressed even in good times. So that's just an unrelated thought.

Update:
As I was writing this entry I went back to the newspaper website where the article is posted to see if there was an update. There was not but there were more comments on the story. I braced myself and read them because normally you have some jerk on there making nasty remarks or bringing in politics like some how this house fire was Obama's fault and then someone counters with no it was Bush's fault. Really people just shut up. There in the comments I read something horrific. The woman whose house burned was at her baby shower when it happened! Then confirmed in another comment by the mother in law. Now I know this could all be lies. However, I just started bawling. At least now I know what I can do as they are expecting a little girl.

First though research to confirm the truth.

Anyhow, please today pray to your God for these people.