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Read my book, TEACHING BEAUTY IN DeLILLO, WOOLF, AND MERRILL (Palgrave Macmillan; forthcoming), co-authored with Jennifer Green-Lewis. VISIT MY BRANCH CAMPUS AT INSIDE HIGHER ED





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(Tenured Radical)

Wednesday, March 14, 2007

House on Fire

Strange how the mind works. My friend and co-author, Jenny, and I had just finished up a rewriting session at my house this afternoon, when we both noticed smoke -- toxic-smelling smoke -- all over the sky. Not the smell of leaves burning or a fireplace. White clouds were becoming black.

I vaguely thought of the shopping mall about a mile away... something there, perhaps...

Not until ten minutes or so later -- after Jenny had left -- and not until I heard the sirens in Garrett Park, did I realize it was a house ablaze, just down the street from my own. Yet that was the obvious thing -- a house on fire, near mine. I think I just didn't want it to be that; I had trouble believing it could be that.



Good thing other, reality-based neighbors, called the fire department right away. How long would I have sat there, denying an obvious fact?

So -- strange how my mind works...

It's been a couple of hours. The house is destroyed. My neighbor tells me he watched it go from smoldering to exploding: "Flames suddenly shot out of all the windows." A few fire engines remain, loudly idling, and neighbors are everywhere, on foot and in their cars, gaping. Chatting. A little parade of bicycles, silver scooters, baby strollers, and dogs, dogs, dogs, passes by, everyone wanting to take a look.