two days ago i had an interesting encounter on the way to work. about 100 yards from the entrance to the school a student's car caught on fire. i was about 15 or 20 cars behind the car and was just sitting there wondering what the holdup was. i noticed all the people in front of me getting out of their cars, so i got out too to see smoke up ahead. we stood there in the middle of the road watching the car slowly burning. as soon as i saw that, i immediately thought to call school to let them know that nothing was going to be coming in or out on the road anytime soon, including me. i didn't have my cell phone...so the school librarian, who was in front of me, called to deliver the dreary news. the end result? i walked up and checked on students who were watching it burn. i offered my car for some to sit in, which they did. i watched the fire when it really took off (the car had a full tank of gas), and then i went back to my car and calmly sat grading papers. the fire truck finally came and put out the fire, and eventually we were able to drive past the crispy carcass of the car as we got to school. all of the buses were late getting there, so the first hour of school was a waste. i just let my kids have study hall, as i myself was 30 minutes late to getting to the class.
in the afternoon when i drove home, i drove over the melted burned area in the asphalt, the X that marks the spot of a weird morning. i keep thinking that despite the fact that the car was completely burned, the bright blue of the paint was still visible on the sides of the car, enough for me to think it was a pretty color pre-torching. i also have a vision of the librarian in the car in front of me reading the newspaper that i gave her, and my grading papers while chaos went on around me. i wonder if this is what it was like when nero went fiddling while rome was burning...
No comments:
Post a Comment