My tax dollars at work

I had planned to post some art I made on Tuesday, but I will do that another day. Today I will be gone most of the day. In fact, this post is on autopilot because right now I am on my way to or already at the airport to take my friend Sally, who will be gone for an entire month visiting places like Halifax, Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, and then back to Texas for a vacation as well as two Crime Stopper Conventions. I showed her how to get her photos off her camera, then she told me she hadn't set her e-mail up on the laptop she's taking with her. So looks like I have to wait till she returns to see if I can snag a few from her camera for my blog.

Sally's plane doesn't leave till 7:20, but she wanted to be at the airport by 5:15, so I have had no sleep. I also plan to do some shopping out near the airport, killing two birds with one stone. I will take you with me, but nothing will be as exciting as the sounds I heard yesterday as I was writing a few comments to my blogger friends.

I heard sirens and I knew they sounded close. I walked outside my house and saw this, then ran back in and got my camera. You can see the fire fighters are just setting up the ladder on the house that is being consumed by smoke.

At first I wasn't even sure where the fire was.

I did know that there were a lot of fire trucks

and at least three police cars blocking streets.

By now there are firefighters on the roof of the house

and more are on the way.





More fire units arrived, this time the Chief and investigators, as well as more fire fighters.

This was as close to the fire as they could park.

They were also coming from the other direction.

All heading to the fire, which was more smoke than anything else.

It looks like a fire fighter convention.



Another fire truck is on the way. That makes 10!







I could finally see the fire fighters on the roof.



Now they are on their way to check out the rest of the house.

The men who had been on the roof are now huddled next to the fire truck closest to the fire. They are preparing to remove their protective gear.

I wanted to get close, but not to arouse police suspicion.

However, they invited me to stand near them so I could get a few good shots.

As I snapped away (over 100 photos that I edited down to 27), I asked why so many trucks?

I was told it was because the fire fighters could not stay in their gear in this heat too long and replacements would be taking over. The ones who were taking off their gear were to sit in the shade and have their temperatures and blood pressure taken. As the ambulance drove up, I got a call from Sally, my neighbor. She told me her car had stopped and it might be the alternator. She asked me to come get her, so I missed seeing how the guys were treated by the EMTs.

By the time I got back home, much of the activity was over, the fire investigators were on scene, and people I had never seen before were standing around on my lawn. I sure learned a lot from this. I was most impressed by the way the fire fighters are treated, something I would never have considered. I have no problem with my tax dollars going to this worthwhile department. Incidentally, there was no one in the home at the time of the fire.

Today I found another web site that has London based artists. The artists are Gilbert and George. Their art is shown at the White Cube Gallery in London. Their motto is "Art for Everybody." Not sure I would buy their art, but it's out there enough that some of you might enjoy it. Sorry, but I simply didn't have time to find a blog today. However, there are lots of other artists at that same Gallery, so you might enjoy their art more. I'll try to do better tomorrow, but I may have to sleep at some point.