Category Archives: Fire

Visions of LaDonna

In my elementary school, there was a girl a few years ahead of me named LaDonna. A fearless, redheaded tomboy–always a first-round pick for playground games of softball–she had Lauren Bacall’s bedroom eyes and husky voice.She talked out of the side of her mouth, looking as much like a guy as she could, back whenContinue Reading

From the Ground Up

I realize that the last post jumped ahead of where I am chronologically, but it seemed like the right thing to do.My rules; I break them. But I need to backtrack to the whole rebuilding drama. I kept a journal that began with the following entry on May 14, 1992:Our permit is approved! We meetContinue Reading

Making a List, Checking it Twice

After the fire, our insurance agent told us we needed to compile a list of everything we’d had in the house in order to be reimbursed for replacement costs. We were lucky to have purchased this type of insurance the previous year when we renewed our policy.  It was inexpensive to add, and we’d hardlyContinue Reading

The Fire Next Time

I guess I’ve been writing about the fire that destroyed our home and our neighborhood in the Oakland Hills for almost twenty years now. I just spent a year writing about it for my master’s thesis.That’s a lot of words. Sometimes pictures do a better job of telling the story, so there will be pictures… I’veContinue Reading