On Thursday 9/15, the city was repairing a gas line and they blew up this house. It belonged to a woman in our church—she is Addie’s Sunbeam teacher and her oldest son is Rich’s best friend from childhood. Her youngest son is 19 and he was napping on the living room floor when the house blew up. The blast woke him up and he had to just crawl toward the light he saw through the tunnel of debris that fell on him when the roof caved in. He was treated for lots of second degree burns all over his body. It's a miracle he got out! Here's another miracle--there was debris for blocks, but on Friday when Diane went down to look around, she found her wedding ring (she is a widow). So we are grateful that Brad is alive and hopefully he will heal with no scars and they will get a nice settlement and a new house.
All of this happened during playgroup last Thursday and I happened to be hosting. We heard the sirens while the kids were playing in the back yard, and then a few minutes later the phone started to ring. Wow. So there were like 5 other moms here at my house and we started talking about this and how you could possibly be prepared for a disaster like this. I mean, we've got CDs of our scanned documents, photos, and home movies in a safe deposit box, but what if the bank burns down, too? We've got the food and water storage, first aid kits, camping gear, warm clothing, emergency transporatation and energy sources--those are great for flood, tornado, truckers' strike, war, etc.--but in an accident like this one, it's all ashes. I mean, Brad didn't even have SHOES! They only had the clothes on thier backs. It makes you (a) really think about your own life and preparedness and (b) really want to help and fix things for your unfortunate neighbors (although this may turn out to be the best thing that ever happened to them-- who knows?)
4 comments:
Yes, we stocked up on water and such yesterday, anticipating Hurricane Rita that is heading our way. Luckily we are a couple hours from the coast, but sure to get heavy winds and rain, and maybe a tornado. Welcome to Texas!
Mike G.
that is terrifying. i can't believe anyone made it out of that place alive. what is so scary is that there is no way to prepare for such a random act like this. at least this family has community that cares about them. you are right about this event having the potential for good outcomes for this family. we are seeing that on a major scale with the evacuees in our city. it helps those who are giving to put their lives and demands in perspective while they work together to help rebuild someone else's life.
Please send our love to the Spalding family. We are so thankful to hear that they are okay. And what a miracle that Diane found her ring! I think they have a guardian angel, don't you??? I bet I can guess who that is!
Oh, and hello Happy Gilmores!!
wow - you are much more prepared than i. we are in earthquake country and yes, i need to add disaster preparedness to my to do list.
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