The bomb house-- a reflection

This will be an abbreviated blog dealing with a recent mess in Escondido. It ended up being a big inconvenience, but some interesting things came out of it.

A few weeks ago Sharon heard several loud pops but assumed they were from cars and trucks on a nearby freeway. Then, the week before Thanksgiving, we found law enforcement people swarming all over our neighborhood streets. You know why--a gardener stepped on an explosive powder and was hurt badly when it exploded under his feet.

We soon discovered the house where this took place was right behind us; our backyard met his front yard at Via Scott. Of course, that night we had scheduled a party for a Christian apologetics group at our house. The street was teeming with police by then, so it was quite a scene: "Sure, come on in. Don't worry about the police; it's just a bombing next to us. The chips and drinks are on your right."

The days went by, and life here came to an odd standstill. Finally authorities determined there was no safe way to get explosives out of the house, so they decided to burn it. We were forced to evacuate for a night. We gained some interesting insights as the entire episode unfolded:

1. People who have nothing of importance to say can become media stars. One of our neighbors ended up in the television studio on the day of the burn, smiling and replying to silly questions with pointless answers.

2. The media got many of the details wrong as to location, names, and occupations.

3. Dodging the media is an art form I have not perfected. For example, we were back home, trying to unload all our stuff. We had a dog in the back of our Pathfinder. So, there I was trying to get the dog out as news people scurried over to get our reactions. Sharon said we didn't have anything to say, but the cameraman kept his finger on the button. The next day a student in one of my classes said he saw me and my dog. I can only imagine what a graceful figure I must have seemed as our dog lunged for the backyard while I spun around, desperately holding onto the leash.

4. Friends are priceless. So many called and emailed to ask if they could help. Really sweet.

5. Family is a treasure. We stayed with my mom, and our son took the dog for the night. Who else would be willing to let their yard be turned into a dog bathroom?

6. Stuff is just stuff. We couldn't take much with us, but that was fine. Both Sharon and I realized once again that we get too attached to things at times. Who cares if it all goes up in smoke? We have each other.

7. For all our skepticism, government can function well. Many thanks to all the various branches of the government who helped pull this off successfully.

We're glad it's all over, and we thank God for the blessings and insights He gave us over the last several weeks.