The State of MY Union

I’m singing with a band again and the joy that fills my heart is inexplainable.  It has been a welcome reception for the butterflies that have returned to my tummy!  I’m adoring the challenge they’ve set for me as well.  Learning completely new songs is THE BEST!  I’m finally doing some real rock and soul!  I’m still at the mercy of concensus when it comes to new music being added to the set list, but it’s still much freer than vie ever experienced.  That in itself is enough to make me crave this project like a needle full of heroine!

The only hiccup, which may turn out to not exist, is this is temporary.  The lady singer I’ve been sitting in for won’t be back and able to commit for about 5 more months.  With begs the question, where does that leave me when she does?  That’s kind of a long time.  Rehearsals, gigs, relationship/chemistry development, all potentially worthless is I get the boot when she comes back.  

So, while I’m 100% committed until told otherwise, it leaves a lingering caution towards attachment.  Kind of makes the whole thing bittersweet!  So, the way I’m keeping my chin as far up as it’ll go, is by reveling in each available second I have to revel in.  Glass half full.

In other news!  

My buddy introduced me to this awesome website called www.wattpad.com.  It’s totally dedicated to unpublished authors!  You can go online and post poetry, short stories, novels, whatever and it’s totally free!  You can even download the work onto your e-reader!  How have I not heard about this before?  I’m not always behind on the uptake, but seriously, how did I miss this?  Thanks, Mo for sharing!  :)

So, if you feel like reading some stuff for FREE, head over to the website and feel free to look me up!  As always, help support those on there and pass the word around.  The gift of networking on the internet knows no bounds.  Literally a gift that keeps on giving.  And now literary gift that keeps on giving...get it?  (I know...it’s a pun, get over it.)

My kids are amazing and keep me on my toes.  I’m fairly certain, between the terrible twos approaching and having a teenager, the grey hair is about to explode like the Death Star all over my ever darkening hair.  It’s depressing.  Perspective here to keep me from going totally insane?  Battle scars.  Proof I survived something insane and didn’t kill anyone...yet.

Josh is doing great with his job.  It doesn’t come without annoyances, but what job does?  I’m still not working, in the workforce.  I have FINALLY come up with a subject for a novel and started working on it.  My intent is to release a series of short stories and lead up to my main character’s own story.  I’ll more than likely post the link to the website when I post the first short.  Please, please, please, offer feedback of any kind.  My ego is well intact and capable of criticism.  

Wow, just realized I started that paragraph talking about Josh and totally turned it into something about me.  Typical.

Well, he’s great!  He’s playing soccer again and looking forward to the new season of softball in April.  He’s looking to coach/manage a team again and he loves doing it.  Even though he tends to get angry more than happy.  Oh well.  To each their own right?  He’s going to be a coaches assistant to Isabelle’s softball team for the first time and I’m thrilled about that!  Isabelle is too!  It’s going to be a (fingers crossed) good experience for them to bond with.

Alex is almost two and knows it.  We’re slowly introducing him to the potty and he seems to love the novelty of it, but no success on production yet.  You gotta start somewhere.  He’s signing more than he’s saying, but he’s doing a lot of copying of sounds.  One day he’s just going to start telling us a story about dogs and we’ll all die in shock.  

Isabelle is nearing the end of her final year of middle school and is getting more and more anxious to finish and get into high school.  I can’t help but get annoyed with her enthusiasm.  Fortunately she is sympathetic to my plite and doesn’t make it worse.  She’s a straight A student with only one B this last quarter and I was so proud of her!  She’s proud of herself.  One can only hope she maintains that focus.  With the softball season starting next week, she’s tickled with activity.  She’s heading to Alaska sans accompaniment to help take care of my sister-in-law recovering from surgery.  She’s beside herself with anticipation.  She’ll be heading to 12 feet of snow from our upper 60s.  I think she’ll get over the thrill fast.

Things are good our little union these days.  I have a new front loading washer and dryer...maybe that’s why things seem so wonderful.  And cleaner!  Love and happiness to you and yours!

December 2011

I haven’t written about my kids in a while, so I thought now would be a great time to catch up on all their activities.

ISABELLE

She’s ever growing!  If I got a dollar for every time I’m told I don’t look old enough to have a daughter her age I have to laugh.  She is frequently told she doesn’t look 13.  Scary?  You bet your bottom dollar.  She’s well behaved and very polite, which apparently equates to being a 16 year old.  Call me crazy, but good behavior doesn’t mean you’re older.  It just means you’re well behaved.  Anyway.  She’s funny.  She loves the attention when folks say that to her, what teenager doesn’t want to be perceived older?  I’m sort of glad I’ve revoked her make-up privileges for that very reason.  However, I’m giving them back to her for Christmas, to my own demise I’m sure.

She finished up another soccer season recently.  She loves to get out there and be active, but the teams she’s placed on are just awful.  I don’t think they won more than one game the whole season.  Makes it sort of difficult to find enjoyment in constantly losing, but she’s got a positive perspective and for that it was not a waste of time or money.  She is really anxious to start softball again.  She’s got a few months yet, but she’s literally counting the days.

Her academics remain incredible.  She’s a straight A-B student and she works hard to maintain those grades.  Since she finished her last softball season, she’s set her goal to playing softball for U of A.  Explaining to her the work she’s going to have to put into obtaining that goal didn’t even put a pause to her plan.  I’m excited to see how well she stays focused once she hits high school.  It’s amazing how high school can really screw up priorities.

We told her what scouts look for in their athletes they give scholarships to.  We told her they don’t just want good players.  They want good students in their players.  Girls that can prioritize their school work and still perform during a game are the ones that get the scholarships.  Since she’s picked one of the top schools in the country for softball, they work is going to be significant.  But she talks about it all the time.  She’s determined to play for the Lady Cats.  I am going to do my job in keeping her focused!

Her hobbies are getting more specific lately.  She’s developed quite a knack for poetry.  She gets really inspired when Cowboy Poetry season comes around.  Reading/listening to her work over the past five years is so much fun.  Her diversity in word use has grown so much and I can tell she’s thinking about things far deeper.  When she’s just doing her own thing in her room, she’s writing.  To be honest, I LOVE it.  It’s a direct reflection of myself shining through in her.  

She’s also drawing a lot.  Mostly with pencil, but she’s becoming very creative with what she’s doodling.  A while back she was telling me about a very vivid dream she’d had.  Instead of trying to explain the imagery, she drew it and then told me about it.  I had to hand it her for doing that.  Once she finished her drawing, she decided to write the dream down and it gave her a spark of interest in writing short stories.  Of course I encouraged her to do that as often as possible.  She asked me if I wrote stories when I was her age.  What parent doesn’t want the opportunity to share some of their memories?

I happen to have kept a significant amount of writings from my high school days.  I took them out for her and let her read them.  At some point I realized how important dating my work was.  So, it was really neat to read her poems I’d written when I was 14.  She got a kick out of it.  It was a bonding moment that was pretty cool.

She’s getting more and more excited about starting high school.  Josh and I are getting more and more terrified.  Only 9 more months and she’s going to be a freshman.  Argh.  Just hideous.  But these coming months I’m going to do my best to embrace the finality of her little girl.  Even now that person is becoming a shadow.  They do grow up so fast.

ALEX

He’s such a fun little person.  I spend my days literally watching him grow right in front of me.  His hair is getting so long.  I’ve finally conceded to cutting it.  I want to have Christmas morning pictures with his hair the length it is.  Then the next day we’ll get it cut.  I’ve grown quite tired of people calling him a her.  Apparently no amount of boy clothes can make up for lovely flowing locks.  So, I’m caving.  It makes me sad, but what are ya gonna do?

He’s signing all the time.  He’s starting to try to say more words, while he signs.  He tries to say almost every sign.  There’s only a few signs he makes no attempt at saying.  He’s learned to say ‘no’ and sign it at the same time.  It’s hilarious to hear his tiny voice say it.  We’re working on learning the word yes.  He signs it, but he doesn’t use it very often.  It’s totally the age of ‘no’ and I accept that, but I want him to learn the difference between the two.  If we ask him if he wants crackers, I want him to say yes instead of signing/saying cracker.  That sort of thing.  But for now, hearing his voice form articulate words is adorable.

He colors.  On everything.  My walls have gotten a work out over the past few months.  It’s funny at first, but not when I’m on my knees scrubbing.  He prefers using the normal size crayons instead of his age appropriate ones.  I guess that’s alright, but I sort of like seeing those fat crayons laying around.  As if I need a reminder there’s a toddler in my house again.  Silly little things I crave.

He adores being read to.  He’s also reached the level of creativity that he’ll sit in his little chair and babble to himself as he flips through the pages.  So cute.  He is sneaky when it comes to all things electronic.  If he sees a cell phone unattended, he’s on it like white on rice.  Remote controls of all variations are of extreme interest.  Keeping him away from them is darn near impossible.  We give in occasionally and sit him on the sofa with my iPad and let him play with the apps I’ve downloaded for him.  He’ll sit there for a very long time.  It’s kinda cool to see what captivates his attention.  Basically anything that responds to a button he pushes.  And of course the more expensive the button, the better.

JOSH

He’s doing the same thing.  Not much has changed in his world.  He’s loving the age Alex is coming to and is reveling in the similarities between he and his daughter.  It’s cute to see them bond.  Seeing first hand what daddy’s little girl really means has its reverence.  I do my best to not interfere.  Besides, Alex is clearly mommy’s little man.

He has yet to do as much hunting as he usually does by this time of the year.  Not for lack of desire, but more lack of time.  He works a lot and his free time is rare.  He just finished playing a season of soccer and I think he had fun playing.  He suffered a couple injuries, but I’m sure he’s not spending any time regretting the activity that caused them.  But man can he be a baby about it sometimes.  It’s just a broken rib.  LOL!

He continues to receive praise from his superiors at work and I’m not sure there’s anything more validating than that.  Overall, I believe he’s got job satisfaction.

EMMA

This has been a whirlwind year.  I cannot believe it’s December.  This year has literally flown.  But in the past few weeks, I’ve made some personal health choices that are going to present struggle, but my intention is to succeed.  I have doctors appointments lining up in hopes of helping me on my quest.  Taking away vices is never easy.  But, I know the removal is going to make me feel excellent!

I’m still reveling in being a stay at home mother and I’m so happy things have lined up for me to be home.  It has had it’s struggles, but ultimately worth it.  I can’t imagine being away from Alex for more than a few moments a day.  Eventually that’ll fade, but until then, I’m loving every second.

I’m writing more and more and it’s giving me such a fulfillment it’s hard to describe.  There’s even been this hint of a desire to go to school so I can become an even stronger writer.  We’ll see.  That’s a big decision that will effect a lot of things, so I still have to mull it over.

Overall, things are great still.  I’m excited for Christmas and the close of another eventful year.  Next year I’m turning 32, Isabelle will be 14, Alex will turn 2, Josh will be (haha) 34.  With all these ages, I highly doubt maturity will reveal itself.  Here’s to another year of refusing to truly grow up!

Isabelle:
She is doing great so far in her last year of junior high.  She's playing on the volleyball team for the first time and she's doing great!  It seems our daughter got all the athletic ability I missed out on as a youth.  She's just natural at anything she pursues and it's making her all the more excited about playing all the sports offered.  The school is playing softball as soon as the volleyball season is over, but I don't think we're going to let her play.  The coaching, to put it mildly, is horrendous.  I don't want her to unlearn all the wonderful techniques she worked so hard on during the regular season.  Nevertheless, she'll have to sit that one out.  All for the better.  I don't want her working so much on sports and losing focus on what's really important, which is maintaining her straight A's.
For the first time the other day, I saw me looking back at me.  She was walking towards me with a pair of my sunglasses on and for a very quick split second, I saw me!  Nuts.  Truly nuts.  I'm constantly being told how much she looks like me and I've refused to see it, until it was literally staring me in the face!  She's just plain growing up too fast.

Alex:
He's growing equally as fast.  He's trying harder and harder to make words and it's adorable.  He's resurrected his ability to blow raspberries and that never loses it's humor with me.  Even when he's got drool dripping down his chin and soaking everything he touches.
He's also forming more signs.  So far he's signing:  all done, more, please, drink, thank you (sometimes), shoes (when prompted), wash hands, and we're currently working on teaching him 'potty' in hopes of him actually needing to sign it!
I picked up his own potty today.  I'm a little nervous as to how to approach this whole thing, seeing as how he's a boy and I've never potty trained a boy.  Either way, the time has come to start at least introducing him to the concept.  He sure had fun playing with it last night though!

All in all life is pretty good and full of interesting developments!  The kids continue to be the apple of my eye and I can't get enough of them!  :)

Full House

Monday morning I started out on the road towards Phoenix. It was already getting very warm. My good friend was generous enough to loan me her Suburban to accommodate the quantity of people waiting for me in Phoenix. The ride was very pleasant and I didn't care too much as to the severely expensive nature of its gas tank.

After nearly 3 hours of driving, my phone was blowing up with calls from Dad wondering what my status was and when I'd be getting to the airport. Then, the phone rang with the call I was super excited about. "We're in baggage claim." My two youngest brothers and my baby sister were waiting for us! I was only a couple minutes away from picking them up!

Isabelle and I pulled up to the curb and leapt out of the Suburban to clench tightly to my siblings and Isabelle's uncles and aunt! I nearly got teary eyed when I looked at the two youngest finally in my presence. They were no longer an image being projected back to me from my laptop! They were physically in front of me! I could touch them!

We all loaded into the Suburban and sought food. We decided on an In 'N Out Burger and pulled in! Instead of picking up the food via drive-through, we went inside so we could stare at each other while we ate! It was fantastic.

In mere minutes it felt like no time had passed since we'd been around each other. Giggles came from the way back of the Suburban and Rachel and Isabelle played cards. Sam, Joel, and I chatted about YouTube videos we'd watched and found to be funny. I pulled up the Bad Ass Honey Badger video on my phone and laughed at they watched it. My whole being tingled with joy as I basked in the sounds of my family being reunited.

We got stuck in stand still traffic between Tucson and Benson right after a torrential downpour. One of the bridges had overflown with rain water and traffic was being directed down to one lane. It took over 30 minutes to get out of it. No matter, we were enjoying each other's company and listening to a mix of music delivered by the radio. Sublime, Korn, Godsmack, then the Black Eyed Peas, Taio Cruz, and Ne-Yo. Eclectic as the folks listening. It was a great drive back home. Back to the place the kids hadn't been in more than 5 years. Their anticipation was palpable. The sounds of excitement increased as we crested the last big hill before seeing Sierra Vista's cityscape. It was fun to listen to them as they looked at new construction and developments that have gone up since they left.

We pulled up to the house and they were beside themselves! Not much has changed since they were in the neighborhood, but the interior of the house is significantly different. Flooring has been changed. Wall color has changed. Carpet has been replaced. Cupboard fixtures are different. Lots of different aesthetics since they lived in this house.

I got them all situated and introduced them to their respective sleeping areas. Laid down some rules about cleanliness. Then we sat down and hung out. Then went to the city park to take part in the city's festivities (minus fireworks) for the 4th of July. Live bands played as we all chased Alex around and played. We went home around 9:30 and resumed staring at each other. No one went to sleep until well after 1 in the morning.

The morning after, we had a fabulous breakfast and I was overjoyed to the new sounds of my house. The sounds built throughout the day as energy was restored to a very sleepy group of people. We didn't do a whole lot. We went to the skate park in the afternoon until we were rained home. Yesterday I too them to the pool and today is Isabelle's first game in the All-Star tournament. We'll all be driving over to Douglas to support her. I'm excited for her and Isabelle is losing sleep with anticipation.

The tone of the house right now is wonderful. I'm very happy to finally have them in my house and I look forward to the several days ahead of their visit.

Still On Fire

Still On Fire

Today was remarkably quieter than yesterday. The fire seems to be losing speed and fuel, which is excellent. Last night, firefighters were able to successfully conduct controlled burns to buffer residential areas should the fire change direction. The weather forecasted throughout the remainder of the week makes things a little sketchy. Thursday and Friday we are expecting more high winds. The past two days have been considerably milder than Sunday’s. Not only is that fantastic for those fighting this fire, it’s kind of nice to be outside and not feel like Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz.

As of tonight the containment has finally gotten higher. We are now 40% contained! I was so excited to read that since we’d been holding onto 27% or less for days. So far, the acreage destroyed is just a couple thousand acres short of 30,000. Comparatively speaking, not too bad when you look at the over half million acres burned in the Wallow fire and over 220,000 in the Horseshoe Fire II. But, unfortunately the Monument Fire has destroyed more homes than both of those fires combined. Not bragging, it’s just been a bigger threat to residencies in this area.

Tonight they will be continuing efforts in controlled burning. This time, however, they are evacuating a large neighborhood while they burn. They are doing it as a precautionary action. The smoke will be significant and then there’s of course the potential of losing control of the fire. I shudder to think of how awful that would be. They are leaving it up to the people who live in that area to leave or not. But if they do leave, they probably won’t be permitted to return without good reason. Your guess is as good as mine as to what a “good reason” is.

The smoke on the mountain has settled and the past two days we’ve actually been able to see our fair mountain. There are smoldering hot spots all over the peaks and canyons and it’s still sad to think of what it looks like up close. Experts are saying it will take a minimum of 20 years to regain the level of vegetation the mountain just lost. We as a community are hopeful for a heavy rainy season...despite the cost it will be.

At a press conference this morning our sheriff, Larry Dever (you might have seen him on Fox News a few times) spoke of the devastation being far from over. While the fire is obviously still burning and the potential of it threatening communities again, there’s the added concern of how this new terrain will handle our typically torrid monsoon season. Flash flooding is always an issue during the season and now with the mountain being bare naked, there’s nowhere for that rain to run but towards housing. It was sad to realize how correct he was. I hand’t thought of it. Here we’ve all been praying for rain to open up the torrential downpour. Little do we know how bad that pour could be. It’s a sucky situation at all points.

Predictions being made show the estimated date for containing this fire are somewhere around July 15th. That’s a long ways away. And that’s just containment. Who knows when this thing will be completely snuffed out. I wonder what science is involved in making those kind of guesses.

People are slowly reporting their returns to their homes in the canyons. Police escorts took residents to their properties today to see and assess. Last night folks were permitted to see their homes off of Ramsay Road after the fire jumped the highway and blazed through densely populated Hereford/Southern Sierra Vista. As I previously wrote in another blog, that particular jump on Sunday took 14 homes down. I was heartbroken when I read one of my friends growing up lost her home. My heart sank when I saw the picture posted of what was left of her home. I can’t even imagine the feeling. It begs the question, why her house and not someone else’s?

This fight isn’t yet over. I am a little nervous about the fire’s proximity to the mountain’s base dwellers over the next couple of days. Hearing the high winds on the forecast doesn’t give me a good feeling. It has seemed every day that has been significantly windy, the fire has picked up speed and strength. It only makes sense. But there’s only so much we tiny humans can do against such ferocity. The silver lining: they expect the wind direction to push the fire backwards into the path of destruction its already left. That could be very, very good. There’s nothing left to burn. Here’s to hoping.

People of this community continue to offer their hands wherever they’re called for. Mountains of clothes have been donated to those who have lost their homes with nothing but the clothes on their backs. I’m hearing a lot about the bare shelves of the stores around here. People are buying up all the Gatorade, tube socks, chap stick, bottled water, and survival type items in droves. It’s amazing to see this unfold. I don’t think I’ll ever be unaffected by the way my fellow Sierra Vistans have rallied. It’s commendable.

***

On an entirely different subject; Alex has finally found his love of the pool! A few rounds of hating it and being just generally afraid, he has grown to LOVE it. It makes me so happy! Today we waded around in a buddy’s pool for a couple hours and he literally kicked his feet up, rested his head on my shoulder, and floated around until I made him get out. It was awesomely cute to see this change in his demeanor. I have a sneaky suspicion we’ll be spending a lot more time in the pool. Plus it’s good for wide ass!

Isabelle has not been playing any softball since the fire became the focus of most of our community’s attention. It’s sort of weird to abruptly stop doing something. Her coach is one of the thousands of people who have been evacuated, so it only makes sense things have stopped. I’m not sure, nor is anyone else, as to when things will resume some level of normalcy around here. But, call me nuts, I think they should get out there and play just for the sake of distraction from all this disruption. But, I also have no idea if anyone on the teams were one of the families who have lost everything. So, maybe it is a good thing to cease and desist until further notice. This thing has phenomenally sucked!

Josh is working the later shift, which sucks too. Perspective. I know, I could be dealing with much larger issues. But it has really put a damper on a routine I’ve been on for over a year. Adjustment...roll with it I guess. Petty in the grand scheme of things. But hey, I can gripe too...even if it’s just on a piddley little blog.

I’m trudging forth on my book. I put a huge dent in the process today and I’m feeling fantastic about it. I plan to finish this book before the end of the year. After that, finding a publisher and an agent. I think this book is going to change lives and I can’t wait to share it. But pulling the reigns back just a little, I’ve got to finish the darn thing first. It’s been hard tackling the subject matter, but the amount of increased mental health is immeasurable. I know what finishing this book is going to do for my heart and that in itself is enough to keep me from shirking. I’m getting to a really good place. It feels good.

Unfortunately

Unfortunately

Today was epic. Words used by those fighting this fire today were: war zone, apocalyptic, powerful, wild.

I have never dedicated much time to listening to a police scanner or anything resembling monitoring of law enforcement air waves. However, the past couple of days I literally feel comforted hearing the squelches, pops, tones, and chatter. Today has been an even more intense need.

This fire scorching the mountain and the surrounding areas reached new heights today. A landmark restaurant burned to the ground. A yard ornament familiar to all who have lived here is now rubble. The church that seared the side of Ash Canyon looks like ruins you’d find in Ireland or Scotland.

Amid the familiar sites the mountain offered, are the homes still we as a community are unaware of their condition. We have been told for certainty 47 homes, thus far, have been lost. After today, I fear the new total the Monument Fire has consumed.

Listening to the scanner today, sweat formed along my hairline as I heard fighters scramble to prevent this torrid fire from crossing the highway, away from the mountain, and rip through the thousands of homes on the other side. My skin crawled as I heard one say, “We can’t keep it anymore. We have to let it go. The wind gust are over 50 mph. We can’t fight it.” Time stood still as I listened to what they were going to next.

I pulled up maps as street names were used as rallying points. I gained my bearings as to where all the units were fighting. All this week we’ve been scared of this exact event. Earlier this week they were unable to contain the beast and it jumped the highway. That day, black smoke filled the air. Those of us in town were left to assume the black smoke was the evidence of another home casualty. At the end of that day, the town was awestruck to learn no homes were lost. I find it difficult to believe we will be given such relief tomorrow.

At tonight’s town meeting and update, the information officers were equally frustrated as the citizens. Hundreds of people gathered to find out if they had a home to return to. People wanted to know where the fire was exactly. There were so many questions and whether it be political ass-covering or genuine ignorance, no one was granted the satisfaction of knowing anything more than what they’d been reading and hearing all day long.

I’m certain the officers at that meeting wished they had more to say. They rattled through the facts of the day, gave out the redundant information about evacuation stations, phones numbers and the typical rhetoric you’d expect to hear. At no point were they able to say, “The fire is right here. We expect it to do this tonight. You’re home is gone. You’re home is fine.” It was an unfortunate attempt at public pandering. But it had to be done. If they didn’t show up and act as if they had any news, they’d be crucified.

Here’s what I find to be odd. There wasn’t a single shred of information they delivered I didn’t already know because of my absurd addiction to the scanner feed. I knew what structures had burned. I knew where the fire was and what was being done. There were a few gaps, but not enough to make me afraid. Incidentally I became somewhat of a hub for information. I get that a lot of people don’t want to sit around all day glued to a stupid computer. So, they’ll wait a bit, call/text me, and find out what they want to know in a few minutes. Easy enough.

Having worked in broadcasting for what I would consider to be a significant amount of time (six years), I know a little bit about getting information to the public. Radio is the EASIEST way to get information to the masses quickly and efficiently. Today I heard some frustrating things specifically regarding that. “Why isn’t the radio covering this better? Why aren’t the news channels in Tucson getting their facts straight before reporting?” So on and so on. I thinks it’s a sad, sad day when a social networking site becomes the best source for up to date information. The general public has been the reporters all week. Some of the information...wait...most of the information is unsubstantiated rumor. But when the information was valid and true, it was golden.

I have been asked so many times when I plan on returning to the radio station. I don’t. I haven’t heard a word from them indicating I’m even wanted. This isn’t a pity party. It’s fact. But, there’s been the journalist in me that has yearned to stomp back in their and do the work. Anyone can read off a press release form from the sheriff’s office. It takes a person with a little more dedication to dig and get the information themselves. Phone calls have been moot. Emails, hit and miss. Listening to that scanner? News.

We all think we can do things better than someone else. It’s the ego in us all. But there are undoubtedly things I’d be doing better if I were the one operating the dissemination of information as this fire has grown into the vicious monster it has become in the last 24 hours.

*Steps off soap box. Exits stage left.

Tonight, I hope with all my heart the calmer winds will give the fighters the chance to really get some of this contained. Looking out the back of my house, I see the glowing red flames and pink smoke looming over my city with intent. No air attacks at night. Just boots on the ground, in the war zone that used to be the Huachuca Mountains. Tomorrow I will reposition myself in front of my computer and listen to the scanner. Hopefully tomorrow night will bring a brighter optimism. Over 2000 people are away from their homes and unable to return. Over 2000 people are anxious to know the fate of their future entails.

Tomorrow I hope the information is more easily obtained. If not, I know how to get it and I will. In the meantime, we wait.

Pictures Speaking Thousands of Words