Don't Want to Live Like a Refugee

This post is for all you Ass-Facebook friends. ; )

Last night we were refugees. All right, not really, but we were evacuees. The story goes like this. About 1:30 I come home after a lunch meeting to a closed off street and a cop camped out. I park my car and ask what's going on. He explains that a crew was using a horizontal boring machine to lay some cable along the busy street that is near our house (I had seen them working earlier.) Somewhere along the line they nicked a gas main (the BIG gas pipe) and they were in the process of excavating down to fix it. He went on to tell me that we were safe and could be in our houses, they just didn't want cars driving down the street.

So I walk down to my house and run into a utility worker and ask him what's up. He says they are excavating down to get to the gas leak, but that we are safe because the gas is venting and there shouldn't be any danger, but be sure to let them know if we smell gas in our house. I had another meeting at 2:00 so I grabbed a couple of things and left for an hour. When I came back the street was still blocked off, but now there were flames shooting out of the street (or so it seemed from a distance) and there were fire trucks and all my neighbors were walking up the street towards me. I stopped one and she told me that the house on the corner had exploded and was completely gone. I didn't know which corner - on our side of the street or the other side? She said that everyone was being ordered to evacuate because it was still dangerous. I talked to the cop and told him my dog was still in my house and he let me down the street to get him. As I am going into my house another cop comes up and says I have to evacuate and I tell him I need to get my dog and I will be gone. He waits while I get the dog and leave.

While I was sitting in my car with the dog trying to get a hold of my wife so she knew not to come home the mobile units from every TV station in town pull up and park, effectively blocking the street. What a bunch of douchebags! Luckily the cop was on top of it and told them they had to park in a parking lot about four blocks away. See ya, suckers!

When we were finally able to get back into our house this morning there were three news trucks parked in front of our house and in the middle of the street totally preventing anyone who lives on the street from getting to their homes and, god forbid, if there were another emergency no first responders would be able to get through. To make matters worse, every person who walked down the street was accosted by a reporter asking for a comment. I just scowl and give them the "stink eye" and they avoid me, but my sweet wife ended up on the tube. She's much cuter than I am anyway so she is a much better representative for our family and neighborhood.

The house that exploded was across the street and two houses away from us. We lived in the house behind it for eight years.

Here are some pictures:









We were evacuated until midnight last night, but we just stayed at my in-laws (they are vacationing in Florida.) It was a terrible night's sleep. First, they have a terrible bed. It's one of those "Sleep Number" beds and is so uncomfortable. Second, it was my in-laws bed. It just felt weird to be sleeping in their bed. With their daughter. Ick.

Now we are back in our house and the main street is open (but not ours) and every morbidly curious person is slowly driving past, getting-off on some poor family's tragedy. I just don't get that. At least everyone is safe.

And this is why I couldn't do my bike or swim (yes, the pool was open but I wasn't about to chase around and find my suit and goggles with a cop watching me through our front door.)