The case for raking leaves...

I had just returned from an appointment that I had yesterday and was reading email when the doorbell rang. I opened the door and found no one, but the street in front of my house was on fire. Living across from large park means having a constant flow of leaves at your doorstep. Somehow the leaves by the curb caught on fire (maybe from a car or a cigarette?) and the fire was spreading quickly. I went to the kitchen to get a fire extinguisher (I bought two during my brief period of new homeowner paranoia) and it put out most of the flames instantly. But then they started burning again and since the extinguisher was empty I had to get the hose, which I then realized should have been my first move - it would have put the flames out better and it would be practically free. About this time, the fire department showed up. I was so busy trying to put the fire out that I hadn't even thought to call them. But someone else must have and they actually showed up in a timely manner. They soaked the leaves with their hose and were really friendly. A less friendly police officer asked if I lived here and then asked for the address. And that was it. Everyone left and I rolled up my hose and went back inside, smelling like smoke.

What did I learn? People are still neighborly enough to ring my doorbell and call 911. The fire department comes quicly. Fire extinguishers dispense a dry chemical rather than the liquid that I always assumed. Fire spreads fast - one or two minutes longer without a response and those leaves would have burnt down to my neighbors car and caused big problems or flames would have caught a shrub or flower and threatened our houses.

Today, I raked leaves.