Well, fuck.

[hellziggy]

hellbob & I went to see Madagascar tonight, and it was cute.
But then we came home to a message on the answering machine from his sister.
Her house burned down. Her, her husband, and the kids weren't hurt, but the house is gone. Everything in the house is gone, except what was in the basement. If you watched Channel 5's 10:00 news tonight the house fire that they showed, that was them.
They are safe and that's what is important, but they pretty much lost everything.
One of the things that was lost that J was so upset about when she was talking to Rick was a black & white photo that I took on February 1, 1999. It was of H's little feet in the hospital on the day she was born. When she was telling Rick this he didn't realize that I still have the negative so he couldn't reassure her that it wasn't gone forever. Over the next few weeks I will be working to replace what photos I can. I gave them all the negatives from their wedding when I gave them their prints, but I have a set of all the prints too and they can be scanned. Gods, I wish I had hung on to the negatives.
The afghan that Rick & J's grandma had knitted for her was in the washing machine in the basement at the time so they still have that, but the hope chest from her great-grandma? That's gone.
It's just stuff, but some of it is stuff that can't be replaced.
They're staying with D's parents tonight, and Rick & J's dad has a house in Anoka that he's never at, so no matter what they will have a place to stay.

Comments

[anonymous-greg.livejournal.com]

Well, fuck. Really. They don't know me, but my heart goes out to them.

[hellziggy.livejournal.com]

Thank you. And hey, as much as it sucks, at least they don't have to deal with FEMA.

[anonymous-greg.livejournal.com]

You have found the silver lining. *nods*

[spankspike.livejournal.com]

OMG - that's just awful. Thank goodness everyone was safe - I know they'll miss their stuff, but not as much as they would be missed.

I lost a cousin in a house fire years ago, and my aunt never really recovered from that. The house was already on fire and full of smoke when her 3 year old woke her up. The fire had started in the baby's room and she went in to try and get the baby out - but somehow picked up a stuffed toy that had gotten tangled in a blanket by mistake. When she got herself and the toddler outside she realized but the fire dept wouldn't let her go back in. Later she found out the baby had died of smoke inhalation, but she always blamed herself and her husband left her because he pretty much blamed her as well - even though he didn't want to admit it. So sad, again thank God your family is okay. And you're so right about FEMA - I know that from living in FL.

I'll be praying that they get their lives back in order as soon as possible.

[hellziggy.livejournal.com]

Thank you, Spank. :)

Yeah, they actually weren't even in the house. J was making dinner & the kids wanted to ride their bikes in the driveway so she went out with them while D kept an eye on the food. But then he ran out to the truck for something and while he was outside whatever was cooking must have caught fire.

I can't even imagine what your aunt went through. I don't think I could recover from that either.

Most of my husband's family is here in Minneapolis, so they'll have plenty of support. Thank you for your prayers.

[girlpire.livejournal.com]

that is so terrible! :(

[hellziggy.livejournal.com]

Yeah, still having a hard time processing it because these things always happen to "someone else" :(

[fiddledragon]

Oh geez - I wonder if that's the other fire they mentioned on MPR this morning - the other one took place this morning and there was a fatality, :(.

[hellziggy.livejournal.com]

It probably was... Theirs was the only other house fire I've seen in the paper (there was also a nightclub somewhere too)

[fiddledragon]

*sigh* it was - the first one mentioned on the radio this morning wasn't in that town - but the second one was.

I'm sooo very sorry *hugs*

[hellziggy.livejournal.com]

Thank you. When we know more of what they're doing next and if they have any specific needs I'll put up a post.

[freyjakj.livejournal.com]

Oh geez, I am so sorry for them. And for you, because that hits too close to home. *Hugs* If there is anything they need -furnitue, stuff, etc... that you think people could gather and help them out with, let us know.

[hellziggy.livejournal.com]

When we know more of what they're doing next and what their immediate needs are I'll be sure to post. Thank you. :)

[ladysea.livejournal.com]

*hugs* I am so sorry.

Is there anything we can do to help? Like kid clothes or anything like that.

[hellziggy.livejournal.com]

Thanks. *hug*
I'm sure they will need kids clothes, but we won't know any details of where they're at/what they're doing until at least tonight, I'm sure. I'll be sure to put a post up when I know.

[ladysea.livejournal.com]

*more hugs* Ok. =)

[kokopellinelli]

Oh, damn. *hug* At least they're okay. And at least you can replace some of their photos.

[hellziggy.livejournal.com]

Thanks. *hugs back*
Stuff isn't important. It can be replaced. They can't and they are safe so everything will be ok.

[scubagrrl.livejournal.com]

How horrible! I'm glad you and Rick are close and can help them out. Glad, too, that you're the photo geek and can replace some of the photos!