Possessions Versus Life

“Hello, Dad? My phone just alerted me of a wildfire in our area.”

“What?!”

“Wildfire,” said Bradley, his thirty-five year old son. “Evacuate. It’s estimated to reach us in one hour. You have to pack and be ready to move.”

“Don’t be ridiculous. It’s clear out there. It’s like those annoying tornado warnings. They’re gone before we hear the siren. Tornadoes have always twisted their way around us. It’ll be the same with this fire.”

Bradley groaned. “I will be taking Geraldine and the kids to a safe place. I’m packing to evacuate. I’ll be there to get you within 45 minutes for sure. I don’t have time to argue.” He hung up. 

Clarence left his house to look. No red sky. No smell of smoke, only a little smoke to the north.

“I’ll just go in and wait it out.”

***** 30 minutes later *****

Knock. Knock.

Clarence answered the door to see his friend and neighbor. “Hello, Bert. Shouldn’t you be at work?”

“They cancelled work so people could get ready to go to a place of safety from the fire.”

“Fire again?”

“So, someone told you already?” asked Bert.

“My son called about half an hour ago. Wants me to pack and be ready to come with him since my car is in the shop.”

“The news said the leading edge of the burn line is about 30 minutes away,” said Bert. 

“Why are they so worried? We’ve had pasture fires before.”

“But not after three years of drought. The trees are dry. Their leaves are on the ground. There’s a lot of dry grass that the cows haven’t eaten. And the wind. Sixty mile an hour wind sends a lot of ashes flying.” Pointing his finger at him. “If you’re smart, you’ll pack like I am.” 

Clarence rubbed the back of his neck. “30 minutes, you say?”

“Wanted to warn you. Thirty minutes and it’ll be here. Gotta go and pack.”

Clarence stepped out to assess the situation. Faraway, dark red glow over the next hill could be seen. The breeze picked up since he was out last. Whiffs of burned leaves and grass mixed with burning tires greeted his nose. He looked up at the asphalt roof of his house. Maybe he should think about packing. 

From the attic, Clarence brought down two suitcases and a special bag to protect suits while travelling. His coin collection and stamp collection went in one suitcase along with wood working patterns. He stopped to caress the walnut China cabinet he made for his wife 20 years ago. It reminded him of cherished family gatherings. He wondered if he and Bradley could move it and the dishes to the basement. Surely a fire wouldn’t reach clear down there. Maybe when he arrived, they could do it. In the bottom shelf of the tall China cabinet, he found the wedding album, vacation album, and valentine cards saved by his wife from the children and grandchildren. 

After filling the first suitcase, he carried the second to the bedroom. Looking through the closet, he wondered what to pack. What do you wear to a fire? Nothing. He laughed. He pulled out 3 shirts, some underwear, deodorant, but stopped at his wife’s jewelry. Several minutes passed as he reminisced about courting her and Valentine Day meals.

Clarence brought the second suitcase and suit bag to the front room. Looking around, he filled a box from the basement with CDs, DVDs, remotes, and his cell phone. 

***** 15 minutes later *****

As he put the last item in box, the doorbell rang.

“You ready?” asked his son. “Let’s get your suitcase and go.”

“It’s over there.”

Bradley looked at two suitcases, a box, and a suit bag, then at his father, then again at the possessions. 

The son pulled back before saying, “We can’t take all that. One suitcase. Which is the most important?”

“I…I can’t decide.”

Bradley strode to the first suitcase, opened it, and saw the collections and cards. He left it open to look in the other one. Out of the suit bag, the son grabbed two pair of pants and squashed them into the second suitcase.

“You’re wrinkling my suit,” said Clarence.

“You’ll live,” said Bradley as he went to the car’s back seat to throw the suitcase in next to the ice chest.

“Can’t we put the other things in the trunk?”

“No. No time. And it’s full of clothes for my family. And I have necessities in it,” Bradley said while walking to the driver side, “like jugs of water, flashlight and batteries. And toothbrushes and toothpaste. Geraldine packed the ice chest with some ice and food.”

The air was becoming thick with smoke and the drought plagued grass fire crept toward the house, pushed by the strong wind.

Clarence gazed at the house he owned for the last 30 years.

“Get in Dad. If you’re that worried, I’ll say a short prayer.” Dad got in while Bradley said the prayer. “Protect the most important things in the house and us. Thank you. In Jesus’ name Amen.”

Bradley drove the car in the direction of the fire. Seeing his Dad’s alarm, he said, “The police said from here, the safest is to drive north to the burned-out area. They thought we would be safe in the car until we passed the fire line.”

At times they couldn’t see for all the dark smoke. The wind was against them, but they kept going. There was no traffic on the county road. A dead tree caught fire which spread ashes onto the roof of the car. The debris on the road was not hot enough to catch the tires afire and, in a few minutes, they were past the burn line. 

Both gave a sigh of relief. 

With a sigh of relief, the son said, “We made it. I know where Geraldine and the kids are. We’ll go there and wait until they say it’s safe to return to home.”

***** After the fire *****

Since Bradley’s family was safe, the son and father decided to drive back to the old homestead before bringing them. They couldn’t gauge where the property was because they couldn’t recognize the burnt houses and barns. Using GPS rather than looking for landmarks, they found it.

Nothing was left other than the foundation. Even basement items burned. The windows shattered when their frames burned. Clarence walked through the rubble, but stopped where the couch should have been. All his business suits and the bag could not be recognized nor could the first suitcase. He walked to the China cabinet’s place, but the only thing there were black pieces of lumber with scaly like cracks running through it. He found a few pieces of jewelry that had not melted down, and picked them up. 

Bradley watched his father. He didn’t know what to say, especially when his father’s tears ran freely down his face.

“All my memories are gone,” Clarence said turning to Bradley. “I’m left with nothing. Everything I owned was here. Now, I have nothing. At least my wife didn’t see it. My heart has been destroyed along with my possessions. I am the unluckiest person that ever lived.”

Something white caught Bradley’s attention out of the corner of his eye that made him do a double take. He went to a bookcase, that for some reason had not completely burned. He pulled a large white book out and showed it to Clarence. 

Clarence ran his hand on the gold letters that still said Holy Bible. He looked at Bradley. “This is Grandma Hunt’s Bible. She kept track of all the marriages, deaths, and children’s names in it. How could I have forgotten to pack it?” He considered the burned house. “I’m left with nothing but this Bible.”

“Job’s reaction to losing children and all his possessions was to say, ‘The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away. Blessed be the name of the Lord.’ God answered my prayer. He protected my family. He protected you and me. And he protected His Word and the names of our family history.”

Clarence could only nod.