Fire in the Redwoods, by Jeffrey Veen

Fire in the Redwoods

My uncle lives in the redwood forests of Fortuna. Last week, after doing some painting in his kitchen, he took a little nap in front of the TV. Later that evening, he woke suddenly, and realized the kitchen was ablaze. He ran from his cabin in the wood, getting some second-degree burns on his way out, and watched it burn down. The only guess is that the gas hose may have come loose when moving the stove.

We drove up there this weekend and camped out in his driveway. We could see that the firefighters had stopped the blaze before it reached completely to the back of the house, but most everything is ruined. He was able to salvage a few clothes, and his tools, but that was really it.

We spent a few hours on Saturday sifting through the ashes -- literally, a shovelful at a time -- looking for his checkbook, some cash he had in the house, important papers. It was a very emotional time as we pulled scraps out of the rubble. "Hey look, my old harmonica," he said. "Here's the Bible my folks gave me in 1961."

I was impressed even more, though, by how calm he was about the whole thing. When we first arrived, he was looking at magazine of blueprints for new homes, and he said, "Yeah, I was planning on building something now that I'm retired. I guess this is a good kick in the pants."

We were heading out to do some shopping and asked if we could pick up anything... anything!? He said, "Nah, I'll get new stuff all at once so it goes together." And he kept talking about what he would do now that he was retired. Looking forward to things.

It makes me wonder if I would have the same perspective, even though I'm in a different phase of my life. Could I disassociate myself from my stuff and keep perspective in the face of similar events? Frankly, I hope I'm never tested.

This entry was written by Jeffrey Veen and posted 2 May 2005 at 2:24 PM. It was filed under Personal. | View blog reactions

Comments

1. On 2 May 2005 at 2:35 PM Jordan Moore wrote:

It's sad news, but I'm glad that your uncle realizes his life isn't over -- it's just a new beginning.

2. On 2 May 2005 at 5:24 PM Charles wrote:

Your uncle is a very enlightened individual.

3. On 2 May 2005 at 7:29 PM Mike D. wrote:

My number one rule in life is to always turn a bad thing into a good thing. In your uncle's case, he's turning the destruction of old property into the building and acquisition of new property, but it can almost always be done with any situation. The bad thing doesn't even have to be related to the good thing. Get a DWI? Quit smoking. Close relative pass away? Start a new career. It doesn't matter. By turning each situation life throws your way into a positive turning point, you rarely have anything bad to reflect upon.

4. On 2 May 2005 at 11:48 PM tim wrote:

"Could I disassociate myself from my stuff and keep perspective in the face of similar events?"

yes, yes you could.

5. On 3 May 2005 at 6:11 AM Kris Leslie wrote:

I do feel bad for your uncle but at the same time I think of what you said, "Could I disassociate myself from my stuff". That is an intresting question. I think we all battle that everyday with the consumation of new stuff everday.

I slowly advocate feng shui but since I began studying design theory and all the other beauties that follow it I feel less compelled to "hold on" to stuff that before I became a designer I would have kept and maybe put it somewhere for usage at a later date.

When I buy my new house I plan on redesigning it to be in the mood of a minimalist and feng shui movement. I am constantly now preparing myself by removing old clothing, useless objects, and trying to organize all my stuff now before I move. I can honestly say I have reduced down 25% or more of the stuff that I thought was useful but turns out it was just waste/garbage.

Maybe even though the event is bad maybe the outcome will be beautiful for your uncles sake. I hope everything goes well my friend.

6. On 3 May 2005 at 7:33 AM Kari Luymes wrote:

So sorry to hear of your uncle's tragedy. How wonderful of you to go and help and be with him. I will pray that he will be able to build out of the ashes and find a new life in the beautiful forest. Stuff is just stuff.

7. On 3 May 2005 at 10:56 AM richard wrote:

It seems to me, from an admittedly small sample size, that people moving a long way tend to hope, at least a little bit, for the moving van to catch fire or drive off a bridge. I think it's the feeling of freedom that comes with suddenly owning very little. All of that stuff we accumulate takes up plenty of psychic and physical space, and when we unload it life can suddenly seem alive with possibilities. I'm glad your uncle is seeing this as a rebirth and an opportunity instead of a tragedy. Hooray for him.

8. On 3 May 2005 at 4:45 PM Maarten van Soest wrote:

It's a pretty scary idea to loose all your belongings in a fire. Especially things like photoalbums and the like.
But in the end the most valuable property you have is your own life. I bet that's what will be the first thing you'll understand when you loose all of your belongings.

He probably knows the brighter sides of life.

9. On 4 May 2005 at 7:17 AM Jason Beaird wrote:

I think a lot of people are this type of event away from becoming a post on The Snowsuit Effort. It's great that your uncle is able to keep his head up despite the circumstances. If it's still readable, the story of Job from that old bible might be of some encouragement.

10. On 11 May 2005 at 9:51 PM Eric Hutchinson wrote:

I kind of know what your uncle felt like after the fire. My house burned down about 10 years ago. You almost have to look at the bright side because you can't do anything about what happened. You realize that you can replace most of the "stuff". For me, it was a life changing event, because it put everything in perspective.

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