Friendship and Fire

I had a post all written and ready to post Friday morning.  I don't know why but something told me to hold off on posting it.  I've been doing a much better job of following my instincts , so I waited.  I didn't know it then but in less than 24 hours, I would be hearing something that would affect me deeply. 

A friend's house caught fire on Thursday.  Everything happened very fast.  One minute someone was cooking and the next thing you know the  kitchen was on fire.  The house  filled with smoke.   It took approximately 15 minutes for everything to be consumed by fire.  What the fire didn't destroy was destroyed by either smoke or water.  Everyone inside the home made it out safely.  That is the most important thing.  EVERYONE made it out the house safely.

 A similar situation happened at my neighbors house in 2009.  She was outside talking to a friend and went in the house to cook dinner.  A kitchen fire.  Two people inside the house made it out safely.  Two people did not.  The neighbors did everything they could to get them out but the smoke was too thick and the fire was too hot.

Saturday morning I was supposed to go to a meeting for Fire Department Volunteers but I decided to go to this other meeting instead.  That's where I learned about the fire.  I made a mental note to call my friend after the meeting to see what she needed me to do.  I didn't make that call.  My friend showed up to the meeting because she had invited a friend to speak to the group and she wanted to be supportive.  Less than 48 hours after  the fire, she's thinking about others. 

When she walked into the meeting, people immediately gathered around her to hug her and see for themselves that she was all right.  I was not one of those people.  I was entirely too emotional to talk to her right then.  My eyes had filled with tears.  I didn't want to start crying and upset her so I decided to wait until the end of the meeting for my hug.

The guest speaker was excellent.  She said some really powerful and moving things that really got me to thinking.  By the time she finished, I had made up my mind that I was going to give my friend my dining room table and chairs to go along with the beds the speaker was donating to her.  I wasn't the only one who decided to give something more.  The outpouring of love and support for her was great.  I could feel it in the air.

There's a saying that you find out who your real friends are when bad things happen.  My friend is going to be all right.  Not because her friends and family are giving her material things to replace what was lost in the fire but because she and her family made it safely out the house AND she is blessed with friends and family that truly care about her. 

There's also a saying that you get what you deserve.  My friend is getting exactly what she deserves.  She has a reputation for thinking about others, being supportive to her friends, and helping those in need.  I posted on my blog about a week before this fire happened that I had much love for this woman and that I hope I could be as good a friend to her as she's been to me.  This is my time to step up and show that I meant what I said.  That's what real friendship is about.  

Please check your smoke detector batteries.  There should be a smoke detector on each floor of your home.  Many states have programs that give families free smoke detectors and/or batteries.  It only takes a few minutes and it could be the difference between life and death.  Be safe.

Thanks for reading.

April

Reviews, Regrets, and Resolutions

Happy New Year everybody!  

Overall, 2012 was an awesome year.  So many good things happened for me, my family, and my friends.  I don't have enough room or time to tell all the good things but some of the major things that happened for me are I was inspired to write a novel.  Inspiration soon turned into frustration but I regrouped and turned a negative into a positive.  

I discovered I'm a much better short story writer than novelist.  My novel is now a collection of short stories.  I've shared a couple of the stories I plan to use in Un-Sociable with a few friends and received so much positive feedback and encouragement.  I also received tons of excellent advice that has saved me time and money from the Motown Writer's Network.   

I've found a real friend in Sylvia Hubbard, the founder.  She is a wonderful person, lots of fun, and full of useful information that she generously shares with me and others.  In case you can't tell, I have much love for this sister.  I hope I can be as good of friend to her as she's been to me.  

I've also worked with some of the best filmmakers, actors, actresses, and musicians in Detroit (and possibly the world) this past year.  There is talent all around me and I'm extremely grateful to be able to connect with these people on a regular basis.  The projects that I participated in were exceptional.  I plan to share them as the year progresses and they are available to be shared. 

I spread myself a little too thin in 2012.  I let it affect my health, my finances, and my friendships.  Running all over town trying to do everything had me making poor choices.  I ate way too much fast food and filled myself up with junk food like chips, pretzels, candy, cookies, etc.  I was tired all the time due to a lack of proper sleep and rest.  I had a couple of colds that really broke me down and lingered far longer than they would have had I taken better care of myself.   

I spent a lot more money on restaurants, coffee, and snack foods than I should have.  Not to mention burning up a whole lot of gas at over $3.00 per gallon.   

I put off calling people, making plans, and just hanging out with my friends because I was doing something that seemed truly important at the time but I can barely remember doing now.  I was short tempered and cranky at times because of my poor time management skills and lack of sleep.  Fortunately,  my friends didn't take my bad attitude personally and continued to remain friends with me.  

I don't make New Year's Resolutions but I started doing some things towards the end of 2012 that I'm going to continue doing.  I've been eating more fruits and vegetables, cooking with different spices and seasonings, learning new techniques and tips, and improving my food photography.   

In addition to food photography, I'm more committed to taking photos.  I'm on a mission to take a photo everyday this year.  I am taking my camera with me almost everywhere I go.  Inspiration and beauty are everywhere and I'm going to try to capture as much as I can.

I'm currently working on a short film project with a friend.  It has a lot of potential and I know so much more about the whole film making process compared to a year ago.   I learned more about directing and camera last year.  I will be directing this year and hopefully I will be brave enough to get behind the camera by the end of 2013. 

Even if it all doesn't work out the way I want, at least I will have tried and I will learn from the experience. 

Thanks for reading and best wishes for the New Year.    

Please leave a comment and share with a friend.  

April

There are no photos in this post because I'm having trouble getting the photos to upload.  :-(