The Smell Of Burning.............

As soon as I got out of my truck and came around the passenger side I could smell it. Something was burning and since it was after midnight I felt relatively sure that not a single person was up that late grilling and that meant bad things for me. My mind immediately grabbed onto the thought that perhaps some liquid had spilled out in my engine and what I was smelling was that liquid burning off from the heat but I discarded that possibility in an instant.

With each step my pace quickened bringing me speedily to the front door and as I did so the burning smell grew more intense. I now knew with certainty that it was coming from inside my house. As fumbled with my keys I opened the door I saw that smoke was quite thick in the living room, the dining room and the kitchen. It was in the kitchen where I found what was the source of the smell and the smoke. My wife had been cooking and somehow had left the burner turned on with the pot still on it although any liquid that had been inside had long since burned off and what was left inside was mostly a charred and blackened mess. Thankfully though there was no fire.

My first move was to start opening doors and windows and then, coughing, I made my way to my sons bedroom which had the door closed. My wife and son were inside safe and soundly sleeping as I went in and took the floor fan out of the room. My intention was to us it to help hasten the exit of that horrid, acrid smoke and smell. In doing so my actions woke my wife and I told her tersely what she had done and made my way out of the room. She followed and wanted to know if she and our son should leave the house but I sent her back into the room reasoning that since the door had been closed the chance of smoke making it in was minimal at best and that they would be okay.

She did as I requested (which can be a rare thing these days) and I opened more windows and plugged in the fan facing it outside in order to draw the smoke out of the house. It took a few minutes before the majority of the smoke was gone but some of it lingered on in various parts of the house and I reasoned that perhaps it was better for me to stay up longer and make sure I got rid of it all. I dumped as much out of the pot as I could and poured hot water in it in order to soften what remained making it easier to clean (a hope that was in vain) and then finally made my way to bed.

Several days and many hot water refills later that pot still sits there on the counter and it may never be fully clean again. At times I can still smell the telltale remnants of the smoke just briefly at various parts of the house. Who knows if and when it will ever go away.


Published by Don Leach

The Perils of Driving in Tulsa

I almost hit a child yesterday. Now before anyone gets all upset about physical abuse let me say I don't mean it in that way. Allow me explain in greater detail. I had just dropped my son off at our babysitters house and directly across from them is a school. There is a small hill which comes up against the sidewalk and it was this time for parents to pick up their children so there were a number of cars sitting at the curb.. As I started driving I noticed a little further ahead a child running backwards down the hill.

As I continued he suddenly darted from between two parked cars and if either of us hadn't been paying more attention then he'd be in the hospital right now. As it was, I saw him and hit my brakes but even so if he hadn't have also seen me then I don't think my quick reaction would have been quick enough. Thankfully he stopped and as I started driving again I watched him run behind my truck across the street. Needless to say this was a bit of an eye opener for me as well as a heart accelerator. It didn't help my mood at all that as I turned the corner I encountered a small traffic jam because parents were double parking as they waited for their children and they didn't seem to care that they were blocking traffic at all.

The traffic around this school and another that is merely about six blocks away (explain that lack of planning and foresight city of Tulsa) that I drive past has been the source of several bad experiences this past week. It seems that locally people cannot grasp the concept that just because they are there to pick up their children it doesn't mean that they can violate any traffic law that they choose. They double park, they pull out of parking lots into traffic with little to no room, they stop and talk with pedestrians and they like to drive at less than half of the posted speed even after they get several blocks out of the school zone. Trying to motion to them or honking your horn does no good because they're far too busy on their cellphones to do more than flip you (or maybe just me) off.



I know, I know, I should find another route to traverse that would allow me to skip them but it's easier said than done in residential neighborhoods and school zones. I am looking though, it's just not worth the headache involved to get all worked up. This brings another thought to the forefront of my brain though. My son will start Pre-K in the fall and even though I will be dropping him off and presumably picking him up I'm starting to have this fear that no matter how much I talk to him and explain why it's so dangerous being around all of those vehicles and how he needs to be extra careful, I also know that kids will be kids. They run around without a thought or care in the world because they are only concentrating on having fun and no matter how much you teach, preach and try to inform them ,that all goes out of their mind once they start having fun.

I think the only way to deal with it is to try and educate them to live right the best you can and then put it out of your mind. There are so many bad things that can happen to a person in this world that you'd go crazy trying to think of ways to keep someone safe at all times. It's just not possible because everybody out there can use their free will do both positive and negative things and those actions impact other people. No matter how hard the government tries to regulate safety it's an impossible task. It's just an illusion. It can't be done. Perhaps it's time to start teaching people to be responsible for their own actions once again instead of avoiding the repercussions that come with it. Nah, it'll never work.



Published by Don Leach