It’s still dangerous out here
Grass fires are everywhere
As I write this on Tuesday evening the smell of smoke hangs heavy in the air. There is a medium size grass fire burning to the west of my house. The wind is currently out of the west at 20+ mph. The fire is said to be about 15 miles away. I have seen firetrucks from 
neighboring communities driving up and down the roadways.
We are nervous, but confident here at Sherwood Ranch. We are confident in our area Volunteer Fire Departments. They are the brave men and women who spend countless hours out in the huge pastures and ranges that make up Real Texas. But the fact is, Real Texas is just too big to be tamed. You can see and smell the grass fires from many miles away.
We dodged a real bullet here at Sherwood Ranch about a month ago and I wrote about it back then.
It is still dangerous out here in many ways. I’ll write more about that subject later.
Here is one impression I will pass along to you. I recently attended a writer’s conference and one of the presenters got up and gave a talk on her area of expertise. She had flown in from a large city back east and she was, to me, very delicate looking. My thought, my impression was that she wouldn’t last very long out here unless she stayed in town in her city mode complete with her sheer dress, her high heels, her designer purse and matching belt, and her accessories.
I made the mental leap to a very pregnant lady fire fighter who grabbed a trauma kit at an accident scene and jumped over a barrier and ran to the aid of an accident victim. She held her big belly with one hand and the suitcase sized trauma kit in the other hand.
I contrasted her with a grimy lady firefighter named Barbara Brown who had been out on a grass fire for many hours and accepted my offer of a bottle of water. She took a big gulp and poured the rest over her head to cool off some.
I contrasted her with Robin Collins who was in full bunker gear and still in full firefighter mode battling grass fires in her area of responsibility out here in Real Texas. She was not going to let the grass fire get past her.
I’m sure that lady on the speaker’s dias was very competent in her area. It’s just that she would not last long out here.
Out here in Real Texas.
Where it’s still dangerous.
{ 8 comments… read them below or add one }
David, just wanted you to know that your cousins up here in East Texas were thinking of you and praying for your safety. Keep us informed….
Whoa. David, have you ever known any Irish gals from Boston or Brooklyn?
On the other hand, I have known some West Texas pretties who didn’t have sense to come out of the rain, should it ever fall. I wish I lived in your world where Everyone who lives where I do is good and strong and everyone else in other places isn’t.
And btw, I still have ash in my car from a fire out in Real, Real Far West Texas that started April 8, has consumed more than 215,000 acres, is only 75% contained, and still burning.
No Vivian. Ignorant heathen like me rarely get out of Real Texas to appreciate the paradise of Brooklyn.
I am quite satisfied that not everyone knows about where we live and the fact that it is so much like Lake Woebegone where “all the women are strong, all the men are good looking, and all the children are above average,”
I wouldn’t give up one brave women volunteer firefighter out here for all the intellectuals in Boston.
Glad you made it through the fires in Fort Davis, Alpine, Marfa, OK. This will be a summer to remember.
Having come from West Texas, which was a garden spot next to my original home of Jal, New Mexico, I recall many grass fires in my youth. However, now I live near Austin, and I can attest to lots of grass burning in downtown Austin any given week-end.
OK, Andy. Now THAT was funny. Always good to hear from you. Where do you live now?
Sure hope you guys are okay. My family in Del Rio says it’s burning south of them in Mexico and to the northwest just outside Comstock. They say the smell of smoke in town is getting worse. We even had a roadside fire here in Houston yesterday along one of the interstates when some idiot threw out a cigarette and ignited an inferno. We’re all praying for rain. Stay safe.
ANDY BOWEN AND WIFE KATHY, DOG CHECKERS, LIVE IN METROPOLITAN HUTTO, ALTHOUGH ON THE SOUTH SIDE OF THE RAILROAD TRACKS.
Great site sincerely, Irina Ashurst