Fire at the Farm

[Gilhelmi]

I am not sure where to put this, it is about my father and our family farm. Not a coworker, but is business related. I always have spoke in a formal manners from normal conversation to moderate annoyances. I will say "Father" instead of 'Dad", "Mother" instead of 'Mom, that type of thing. I say that because I know it will read and sound weird to "normal" people (ie 95% of the population), but the way you talk sounds weird to me.

This was 5 years ago.

F: Father (75 years old, important at the end of story)
M: Mother
S: Sheriff Deputy
ME: As foretold by prophecy (25 years old)

At the time I worked at a Nursing home in the kitchen, I got off work at 2:30 PM. I get a call from my Father at about 2:45.

F: I need you to bring out some bottles of water to help put out a fire.
ME: OK, I will be there shortly.

(Naturally, I assumed he was burning wood in the trash wood pit. It is dangerous to leave wood accumulating so we burn it. Because of water rights and wells, our old farmstead does not have running water. So I figured he needed a couple gallons to put out the fire before he leaves.)

ME: WHAT THE HELL, The yard is on fire.
F: It is under control, we just need to put out the grass. (he says as I look at 2 acres of burning grass)

ME: The shed burned down, why have you not called the fire department?
F: There was nothing of value in there.
ME: That is not the point. (I then noticed a large pile of wood next to the farm house catch was on fire.)

Now, on our farmstead there WAS a thicket of trees in that area as well. The stumps were still burning. there were several piles of wood that, I admit, did need disposing of. All of this was a lot of work for my 75 year young Father who insisted on still doing the maintenance himself.

ME: (more forceful than usual)The house is about to catch on fire, call Fire Department NOW, before the house burns down. (poor cell phone reception, only reason we kept the land-line out there)
F: OK, OK, but I still think we can handle this. (he says while the fire is now spreading to tall grass).

So I grab a shovel and start to tap the short grass, fuming a bit about having to insist that he call the fire department. We keep the fire from spreading south, but it is still spreading north. Fortunately, the Field had just been plowed so it was just dirt, that kept the fire 'mostly' contained in that direction. But that wood pile was still burning 4 feet from the house. Then the Sheriff Deputy came.

S: yep, we need the fire department. *he says into the radio* (I suspect father had downplayed the situation to the operator a bit)
S: You got another shovel? *I hand him a shovel*

So the three of us are working to contain the situation. I am venting a bit to the Sheriff Deputy about having to insist on calling the fire department, while we are shoveling dirt on some of the tall grass. I know the shed had NOTHING of value, but that is a good time to call the fire department. Sheriff Deputy just nodded letting me vent.

About 20 minutes later 5 Water (rural fire) Trucks showed up. Along with 15 volunteer fire fighters. They got the fire out in about 90 minutes and I thanked them for their service. We lost nothing of value. Just an Old shed, an Old Out-House (a small hut, with a seat and a deep hole, what people used before indoor pluming), a bunch of trees, and 5 acres of grass.

I go home still annoyed at Father. I tell Mother everything in detail. (I was very still annoyed, looking back now ) This is what she told me.

M: You sound just like your Father. He said the exact same thing when your Grand-Father set the creek on fire back in the 80s. The older fire fighters probably remember.

CREEK ON FIRE, , how? why? Most importantly

AM I GOING TO BECOME MY FATHER AND BURN TRACKS OF LAND?!?! Constantly saying, "Oh, I do not want to bother the fire department"?

My Father was 75 at the time, that means he was in his mid 50s when Grand-Father did this. Grand-Father must have been in his mid 70s. That means in 45 years I will be at the age where this family tradition is.

I love my father, he is a good provider. He started off late in life with my mother, so I was raised by people with great wisdom. But I am dreading old age (over the age of 80) when the mind really starts to go in my family.

[Pixilated]

I'm guessing you come from a family in which people tend not to stress out much as they get older ...

Glad to hear nobody was hurt and nothing of value was lost.

[AnaKhouri]

My husband's family lives in the country. One of their neighbors is the father of my husband's good friend. He's a dentist but he's really a mercenary at heart (in his office waiting room there are copies of "Soldier of Fortune" for his patients to read). And he likes to blow things up.

Once he had a tree on his property cut down and decided to blow up the stump with dynamite.

It took fire crews from three counties to put put the resulting blaze.

[fireheart]

Once he had a tree on his property cut down and decided to blow up the stump with dynamite.

It took fire crews from three counties to put put the resulting blaze.

That sounds like something my boyfriend would do

[Gilhelmi]

That sounds like something my boyfriend would do

Sounds like something I would do, if explosives were not illegal.

It would save SO much time.

[Gilhelmi]

I'm guessing you come from a family in which people tend not to stress out much as they get older ...

Glad to hear nobody was hurt and nothing of value was lost.

I never thought about it until your post. The last couple days I thought it through.

I have only seen my mother get upset once in 30 years, at my father when he forgot that she was working late and he did not come in from the farm after school ended Kindergarten and first grade, we live in the country so the school bus dropped us at our house. I was not worried and started watching TV, my brother called the operator, who thought something must be wrong and put him through to the hospital that my mother happened to work at.

I have only seen my Aunt get upset at my mother once, and my mother said my aunt was completely right. That is a long story.

Ya, no one in my family worries about things 99.9% of the time.

[Jetfire]

My mom's side of the family has the fretters. They aren't anxious about everything (for the most part) but they do keep track of things and get anxious when things aren't going well.

My dad's side (and I inherited from Dad) are the nonchalents. We take things as they lay for the most part and don't let them bother us.

The best example of this was when my sister was still in highschool. Mom was out of town doing something, so Sis decided to throw a party. Dad was calling Bingo, came home, saw the party, didn't say a thing but turned the TV on, and slumped in the lazyboy and dozed off.

Mom came home finally and ripped into both of them, dad for not saying anything, and Sis for having the party in the first place.