Beginning

Beginning

Suddenly I heard a siren go off and jumped a mile! Was it my smoke detector? My security camera? My car? In the seconds of my panicking, it stopped. I sat still for many minutes but it didn’t go off again. Then of course just to be extra careful I checked every inch of my house and car. Apparently, just some whiff of smoke passing by.

However, I was concerned at my confusion. If I wasn’t sure which sound meant what… well, that could be very dangerous for me. I decided I had to update my knowledge of my safety alerts!

First the house, but, I couldn’t just turn on the alarm, my neighbors would be scared, and it would be embarrassing as all get out explaining this to them. I grabbed my coat and hat and walked to each neighbor’s house.

Andrew wasn’t home, that worked for me. Susan and Ted were in their back yard, I just had to stop at the gate and tell them my plan. I think Ted actually rolled his eyes…

The last was a new neighbor, Jeff Stone. I’d only met him briefly when he bought Tengal’s house. Frankly, I was avoiding him. Another senior, recently retired, moving in… It was beginning to look like a retirement community, which I’d refused to move into! I wasn’t old!

As that thought crossed my mind, the absurdity of telling all my neighbors I was testing my alarms to find out which one meant what, suddenly sounded exceptionally old… As I stood there, blushing, out came Jeff Stone.

“Are you alright” he asked, very concerned!

I must have looked OK enough, even though my cheeks were burning… We started talking, and two hours later went for coffee.

And that was our beginning, fourteen years ago today.