A Christmas Story

Today’s Christmas Day.  For many, this day brings with it: great anticipation, excitement, family dinners, and communities coming together. 

This Christmas is no exception, except for… well… let me just tell you what happened when I got home from church, and you’ll see what I mean.

I sing at various churches, so I was away from the house all morning.  As I drove into my garage, I was thinking how nice a nap would feel, right about then…but plans quickly changed.

My neighbor came rushing up and met me at my car door. 

“I wanted to catch you before you went into your house!  Your backyard is on fire!  See?!”  and she points to the back of my house.

Instead of going into my house, I went around to the back and… yes, indeed… my backyard was on fire… along with several other backyards and the detention pond and the pine trees across the way… and…

Oh Christmas Tree, Oh Christmas Tree… How quickly thee can burn!

The fire was so close to my house, it was unbelievable!  While I was gone, my neighbors had tried desperately to stop the fire from reaching my house, but their hoses weren’t long enough.

One neighbor was reaching his hose over his wooden fence to try to quench the thirsty flames, while another neighbor was bringing buckets of water to do the job.

I ran up to the fire’s line that was, literally, knocking on my back door, and I started stumping out the flames with my feet.  All I could think of at that moment was that I didn’t care if my pants went up in flames, just as long as my house didn’t!

To add to this little Christmas miracle of mine, I was in the middle of changing house insurance companies.  That’s all I needed was for my house to go up in flames, during this transitional period, and on Christmas day!!!

But… all is fine.  The community got together and stopped the fire before it damaged anyone’s home.  The fire was contained in the huge detention pond behind us, although the fire did come very, very close — too close for comfort — to our homes.

The excitement of the event bonded the neighbors together on this sunny and very dry Christmas Day. 

As we waited in anticipation for the fire department to arrive, my neighbors pieced together what had happened.  Seems that a couple of boys were seen firing off grenade-type fire crackers under the pine trees across the way.  Their actions started the fire that swept through the area.  The wind moved the flames quickly, down the open and dried grass area. 

As we looked over the blackened landscape that nearly engulfed our homes, we can only shake our heads.  We’re sure that the boys responsible didn't think of the consequences of their actions.

Will the boys learn from this senseless act and not do it again?  Will they accept responsibility for their actions?  Will they stand up and pay for the damage that they caused? 

It’s hard to say.  We were lucky this time… but what about the next time? 

I have no idea what comes next… only that… as in the past, Christmas Day brought with it: anticipation, excitement, and a community coming together…

Oh... and a Merry Crisp-mess to All!





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