I obviously need to get my kids into gaming more, you know, to prepare them for the future.
Are Violent Video Games Adequately Preparing Children For The Apocalypse?
Saturday, February 28, 2009
Monday, February 23, 2009
fire
dan's little brother is on a mission in the detroit area. a couple of weeks ago, their apartment complex burned down. here is his letter describing what happened. i hope he doesn't care that i posted it, but i thought it was pretty good.
Elder Simpson woke me up at 3:30 am and our window glowed with orange light. As I gazed through the blinds I find drips of burning vinyl siding flying past the window. we get up and run outside, the only thing grabbed is the cell phone to call 911 and the mission president. Upon exiting we see a raging inferno high on the third floor. The fire was growing fast in the cold breeze. Molten vinyl dripped onto my shirt and a spot on my foot. we watched as soon we found our own apartment blocked by flames. We stood and prayed. and then started screaming to wake everyone up. everything was left inside. car keys, wallets, shoes. I was in pajamas and Elder Simpson only was wearing shorts and a tee-shirt. As we stood, Elder Simpson only could repeat, "Our door is on Fire! Our door is on Fire, Elder!" were called over to the side of the building by a man, where we found a woman and a man holding a baby. the woman apparently had taken her shirt off to cover the baby. Thick heavy smoke billowed out the apartment. the man calls for us to jump on his shoulders. I tell Elder Simpson "You're lighter, You go." He fearlessly climbs up the man and reaches halfway up the railing. The woman in histeria, is hesitant to hand the baby down. off to the right a window explodes and glass shoots everywhere. The smoke is only getting worse and Elder Simpson can hardly even keep his eyes open to help the baby. We are hollering to send the baby down first. The woman hands the baby to the man and he leans way over and hands the baby to Elder Simpson who soon loses his balance atop this guy. he reaches out and catches himself on the railing with his left hand, and with his right he wraps around the baby and pulls her in close. I run over to him and he lowers the baby to me. I looked as I was holding a little 7 week old crying baby named Kennedy with burns on her face. Next the mother climbs over the railing and climbs onto Elder Simpson he lowers her down and she grabs onto a little fence nearby. by the time she is down, a detroit edison truck(electric company) pulls up and grabs a ladder and helps lower the man down. the woman jumps into a police car as the officer calls for an ambulance. she was heavily burned. and taken to the burn unit in Flint. We take a stand back and watch the fire growing. the two fire truck spray the fire with everything they have and soon an enormous truck drives up. it extends hydrolic arms for stability and after a few minutes of hooking up as many fire hoses as it can it raises a large ladder with two huge soaking hoses. there is someone trapped right above our apartment and the two smaller trucks spray and block the fire around the window and the large truck extends and breaks through a window and the lady jumps onto the platform with the fire fighters. she climbs down and the ladder takes its place above the fire and begins unleashing its wrath. at a rate of 1000 gallons of water per Minute the fire now has a worthy opponent. bit by bit the fire is calmed as the staircases become waterfalls and our apartment becomes a wadding pool. at about 4:00 I call President Rawson and then Bishop Juarez. We ask for some clothes and something to eat. At this time, we are freezing and finally somebody from a neighboring complex gives us blankets of which I wrap myself up and stand upon to give my poor raw freezing feet a rest. We decide to go to the Apartment Clubhouse which has been opened to shelter the now homeless. I am hungry, malclothed, and pretty much have nothing anymore. somebody brings in some bread and cereal. the Bishop arrives as donates us his shoes and coats that appeared nearly new. another man donates some pants that were 4 sizes too big. A whole community begins awaking and pouring out their support. The American Red Cross arrives and extends some relief and gives us a voucher for some clothes and food. In time we are given a new apartment in the opposite end of the complex. The Relief Society President Sister Hagan comes and brings us some clothes and groceries. The Mission comes up and brings Desks and matresses. The fire has been out for a little while and we go the the apartment which only sustained smoke and water damage and we can ask the firemen to grab anything we need we get keys cameras clothes books; all covered with the horrible aroma of burning plastic. A few hours later as they are boarding up the apartments we run in there and have about 7 minutes to get everything else we want. I find my headlamp and begin sloshing through the dark apartment looking for everything i think salvagable. I grabb the Area Book which holds the precious records of hundreds of missionaries efforts in the Area and my journal soaked through and through. and now we return with our treasure in our brand new Chevy Malibu with a melted bumper and headlights. And that the Way it is. Love Elder Bolke
my sister-in-law posted some pictures and media links here.
Elder Simpson woke me up at 3:30 am and our window glowed with orange light. As I gazed through the blinds I find drips of burning vinyl siding flying past the window. we get up and run outside, the only thing grabbed is the cell phone to call 911 and the mission president. Upon exiting we see a raging inferno high on the third floor. The fire was growing fast in the cold breeze. Molten vinyl dripped onto my shirt and a spot on my foot. we watched as soon we found our own apartment blocked by flames. We stood and prayed. and then started screaming to wake everyone up. everything was left inside. car keys, wallets, shoes. I was in pajamas and Elder Simpson only was wearing shorts and a tee-shirt. As we stood, Elder Simpson only could repeat, "Our door is on Fire! Our door is on Fire, Elder!" were called over to the side of the building by a man, where we found a woman and a man holding a baby. the woman apparently had taken her shirt off to cover the baby. Thick heavy smoke billowed out the apartment. the man calls for us to jump on his shoulders. I tell Elder Simpson "You're lighter, You go." He fearlessly climbs up the man and reaches halfway up the railing. The woman in histeria, is hesitant to hand the baby down. off to the right a window explodes and glass shoots everywhere. The smoke is only getting worse and Elder Simpson can hardly even keep his eyes open to help the baby. We are hollering to send the baby down first. The woman hands the baby to the man and he leans way over and hands the baby to Elder Simpson who soon loses his balance atop this guy. he reaches out and catches himself on the railing with his left hand, and with his right he wraps around the baby and pulls her in close. I run over to him and he lowers the baby to me. I looked as I was holding a little 7 week old crying baby named Kennedy with burns on her face. Next the mother climbs over the railing and climbs onto Elder Simpson he lowers her down and she grabs onto a little fence nearby. by the time she is down, a detroit edison truck(electric company) pulls up and grabs a ladder and helps lower the man down. the woman jumps into a police car as the officer calls for an ambulance. she was heavily burned. and taken to the burn unit in Flint. We take a stand back and watch the fire growing. the two fire truck spray the fire with everything they have and soon an enormous truck drives up. it extends hydrolic arms for stability and after a few minutes of hooking up as many fire hoses as it can it raises a large ladder with two huge soaking hoses. there is someone trapped right above our apartment and the two smaller trucks spray and block the fire around the window and the large truck extends and breaks through a window and the lady jumps onto the platform with the fire fighters. she climbs down and the ladder takes its place above the fire and begins unleashing its wrath. at a rate of 1000 gallons of water per Minute the fire now has a worthy opponent. bit by bit the fire is calmed as the staircases become waterfalls and our apartment becomes a wadding pool. at about 4:00 I call President Rawson and then Bishop Juarez. We ask for some clothes and something to eat. At this time, we are freezing and finally somebody from a neighboring complex gives us blankets of which I wrap myself up and stand upon to give my poor raw freezing feet a rest. We decide to go to the Apartment Clubhouse which has been opened to shelter the now homeless. I am hungry, malclothed, and pretty much have nothing anymore. somebody brings in some bread and cereal. the Bishop arrives as donates us his shoes and coats that appeared nearly new. another man donates some pants that were 4 sizes too big. A whole community begins awaking and pouring out their support. The American Red Cross arrives and extends some relief and gives us a voucher for some clothes and food. In time we are given a new apartment in the opposite end of the complex. The Relief Society President Sister Hagan comes and brings us some clothes and groceries. The Mission comes up and brings Desks and matresses. The fire has been out for a little while and we go the the apartment which only sustained smoke and water damage and we can ask the firemen to grab anything we need we get keys cameras clothes books; all covered with the horrible aroma of burning plastic. A few hours later as they are boarding up the apartments we run in there and have about 7 minutes to get everything else we want. I find my headlamp and begin sloshing through the dark apartment looking for everything i think salvagable. I grabb the Area Book which holds the precious records of hundreds of missionaries efforts in the Area and my journal soaked through and through. and now we return with our treasure in our brand new Chevy Malibu with a melted bumper and headlights. And that the Way it is. Love Elder Bolke
my sister-in-law posted some pictures and media links here.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
