The Fire, My Life, ANd What Happened

Sunday 12/9/07: 4-4:30
Me: sitting in chair scoffing at the Patriots
Mark: sitting on couch scoffing at the Patriots

I looked at Mark, ready to ask if he smelled something, he was already going to ask me the same thing. We get up looking for the source, first checking the oven, (more smoke), behind the fridge (more smoke), in the bathroom (smoke poured out), behind the radiator (Kitchen was completely full of smoke).

The following is a serious note. Always have batteries in your smoke detectors! Our whole place fill up with smoke and the fire had become big enough to evacuate and call 911 in a matter of 2-3 minutes. (If you are asleep, you're screwed w/out detectors)

So anyway, I went down to the basement because that was the obvious source of the smoke , opened the door and immediately could not breathe. I could see flames, but not directly. I call 911, and went back in to tell Mark how serious it was, he had already grabbed my computer, George's computer, I grabbed my guitar and we went out to wait for the Fire Dept. They arrived in less than seven minutes.

The first of the firemen came up to us and asked, "You guys live here?"

"Yes", Mark and I answered in a simultaneous desperation.

"Where exactly is the fire?"

"In the basement"

By this time there were four trucks and hordes of manly dudes weaving around us in a controlled chaos. I felt so safe. I really did. Then I kinda followed the first of the guys that were going into the house telling them, "okay the fire is only in the basement"

"gotcha" He replied as he flew up the front steps and Axed in the front door (not the basement).

"The basement!" I yelled again, as the sound of shattering glass and broken walls poured out the window with the smoke.

It was at this point that i knew this was for real. Then they sleighed in a little boat of power tools and inside of a minute, they were sawing out the back wall of our basement/kitchen.

So, those types of things happened all the way up through the highest of our roof.

Then a cop came up to us and told us that our whole house was done and that all our stuff was going to be ruined. Note #2: Renter's insurance! Do it now!

Then an annoying group of vultching parasites started loitering around the scene trying relentlessly to acquire an "okay" from us to let them board up the house. They are right next to telemarketers in the chain of soulless professions. They wouldn't leave us alone and were trying to schmooze and persuade during this chaotic frenzy.

In the end, the cop was wrong, we didn't lose everything, our stuff was just severely smoke damaged and the fire stayed in the basement, but due to ventilation requirements by the CFD, they had to tear up the house pretty good, and it is no longer livable. George, Mark, and I have, as of 12:30 today, found a great apartment up at Lawrence/Hoyne and we are pumped to stop living on couches at friends' houses (THANK YOU SO MUCH SEAN!) and get into another place.

So that's what really happened. In the end, I learned that I have so many responsibilities that I need to confront. I also found out that I have the MOST SUPPORTIVE, GENEROUS friends in the WORLD! So many people offered up shelter for me and it made me feel so loved.

I LOVE YOU FRIENDS! FOREVER!

-anthony (sorry for the long post if you're not interested)