Where There’s Smoke There’s Fire!

Face   That face you get

when you are worried about, “just how close is that fire behind my house?” The fire season of 2015 is still very fresh in my mind and my reactive response now is, should I or shouldn’t I start packing things up?

I was just making a quick dinner for myself of a small baked potato and some broccoli, (the family is out), and I heard sirens in the distance. Now, the problem is, I don’t usually even give that a second thought, because sadly enough, it’s usually police or sheriff sirens. Living in Lake County has jaded me a bit I’m afraid. But when an air tanker flew over my house close enough to rattle my windows and freak my dogs out, I took notice!

Being the wife of a battalion chief has it’s perks. We have multiple sources of scanning devices in our house to monitor the airwaves and get reports on conditions. I immediately turned up the scanner and found my husband’s pager, turning it up also, as it scans different channels.

Walking outside, the smoke plume was pretty high but not black, just a light brown, indicating that it wasn’t a structure. It was also not moving much. I looked at the tree line and noted there wasn’t any wind to speak of. Now my nerves are starting to settle a bit. ………… but only a bit.

Acid reflux is sure to find me, as I ate my dinner standing at the kitchen window, watching the smoke and talking to my dad on the phone. He called me right when I was trying to listen to how many acres it was and what all resources they were sending. I’m afraid I was abrupt in telling him I’d have to call him back.

I called my daughter’s friend Amanda, who lives down the street from us out Morgan Valley Road, in Lower Lake. The fire seemed past her and she also has a scanner, because her boyfriend is a firefighter. I was hoping maybe she heard what I missed on the report of conditions. Luckily, she knew the road and it was out Lakeridge Road, some two miles past her and about 2 1/2 from me. That is not very far! We agreed to keep each other posted if we heard of any changes.

When I hung up, I decided to call my husband, even though I knew he was out on the road, driving back to me with our youngest and her boyfriend. He is allowed as an emergency personnel to use his cell phone, and after all, this was official fire business.

Charlie informed me that it was in fact, very close. He said that it wasn’t a very good place to be burning either, but if there wasn’t any wind they would probably pick it up pretty quick. He promised to call me in a few hours when they stopped to eat and he’d check in on me. Being the brave girl I am, I assured him it looked like they were getting a handle on it………even though I wasn’t sure.

Dinner eaten and I cannot even remember if it tasted good, I put my plate into the sink and went outside again to look at the smoke more closely. To my surprise, the smoke was much less and the air tanker was still flying, but farther away. This is when I took the picture of my worried face. HA!(pic from Google images)

More relief came when I walked into the house to hear them say, “fire contained at a half acre.” DO YOU KNOW HOW GOOD THAT MADE ME FEEL?!!

So now, I’ve called my father back to inform him all is right with the world, and I was also hearing them release people from the fire. That in itself is a great indicator of success! WHEW! What a relief!

I thought the fear was past me, as I didn’t really experience near the emotional trauma as so many folks did last season, from losing their home. But being on the alert for months and keeping our belongings packed, ready to evacuate, it took it’s toll. Worried about my husband going out to fight the fires, worried about all the friends we have in emergency services, and plain old worrying about safety in general, not sleeping………. it was rough! Tonight, it flooded back into me. I’m glad it was short lived.

I have so much gratitude for living in this small community, where I have people, like Amanda, who I can call with my worried questions. I’m grateful to be here knowing so many emergency personnel, who would do anything for the people who are living here. I am thankful I’m married to a great guy who has taught me ways of keeping myself, our family, and our property safe. Lastly, I am happy to know so many kind people who live near me that I know, in a heart beat, would help me if I ever needed it, because they know, I’d do the same for them.

Tonight, brought back some scary memories, but it’s all good. My dogs and I are relaxing with the air on, and in a few short hours, my husband will be returning home with the kids, (grown as they are). Life is good.

These feelings of bonding with community are what propels me forward in writing my book, Out Of The Ashes. The characters and the story are portraying the small-town-America, that we all desire. Our county may have it’s problems, but I can honestly say, it has far more blessings then my eyes were willing to see, before the fires happened. Now, I see what was there all along.

Good night my friends.

Life Goes On

DSC00722  Let me tell you,

I am far from the Pollyanna, everything will be A-OK, optimist, but for all of my life, I’ve been looking for that silver lining. In my adult life, I’ve always practiced gratitude, and looking back, I know perseverance has been my motto. But the one thing I know, (and bare with me, it’s cliché), is that LOVE IS ALL YOU NEED.

The research I’ve done for my book, and the people I’ve talked to, have given me so much hope for the future. Through everything people have been through, through all the devastation and loss, there has been one common denominator and that is, LOVE.

Call it what you want, compassion, empathy, faith, help, giving back,……. it’s all love. Without love, you cannot possess any of the previous feelings or actions. When I bore witness to the human aspect of the aftermath of our community’s ordeal, I felt the love in every stranger. It’s hard to put into words!

Today, it’s still there. After a while, you have to look harder for it. Some folks are having more than a hard time moving forward. Let’s be honest, it’s down right paralyzing for some. But if you dig deeper, (like I have), the love it out there.

A group called, “Camp Noah,” I hear, is coming to Lake County for the children. It’s an organization that helps kids deal after a disaster. They are based out of Minnesota, but have been to places such as the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, because children feel stress too. With all our adult problems of having to relocate, find a way to make our family’s lives as normal as possible, kids are in the background, stressing in their own way. Go to lssmn.org/camp_noah  for more information. I believe it’s a great idea.

I’ve talked to so many folks, and recently, I’ve found that some people almost feel abandoned. Like, “the world is moving on without them.” Once things are no longer in the forefront of the media, and others that have not experienced the first hand trauma, have gone on with normal life, the ones that went through terrible loss are feeling forsaken. How can everyone just move on?

Well, rest assured, that some that appear to have moved forward are just now feeling the stress. Everyone deals with these things at their own pace, and I believe, just like any kind of mourning, we need to allow folks to come around to it in their own time. And if you are one of the people out there feeling forsaken, try looking for support through friends and neighbors. They are out there believe me!

My friend April, put it more eloquently than I think she even knew. We were at lunch and she told me about running into friends that were her neighbors up on Cobb Mountain. She’s since moved her and her daughter into a home in Hidden Valley because they had lost their family home, something that was passed on from generations. She recollected how it struck her, seeing these people, after all these months that they would never be her neighbors again! How she’d always assumed they’d be right next door and they’d share a friendship of family memories forever! But that was robbed of her the day the Valley Fire relocated her! They weren’t given a choice! These kinds of things are still very fresh and raw.

I was told of a website from a local Middletown woman. She runs a coffee house on Main Street in Middletown, and has a fun and upbeat blog called, Coffee Keeps Me Grounded. Please, look it up and read of Stephanie Diehl’s local life. Her recent blog will let you know, that even those who seem perfectly great on the surface, can be working like a mad dog underneath. She and her family were affected by this fire as well. It’s a good read.

We are all needing love. Not just right now, but try to let these unthinkable circumstances remind us of the fact that, at any given time, someone we know, or don’t know but come in contact with, can be fighting an uphill battle. I know that just lending a hand, giving a smile, or a kind word, can mean all the difference to someone in need. The way we behave in tragic times can show character of who we really are. But even months, or years later, let it be a reminder to us to always show love.

I am leaving you with one last piece of recommendation of a girl who has put together a picture book. Now, I warn you, the photos are of the fire! But as my beautiful friend April told me, she purchased it not for herself, but for her future grandkids, because it occurred to her, that she no longer had anything to hand down from the family. This book was proof to her future grandchildren, of hers and their mother’s stoic, perseverance, that they did in fact, lose everything, but love moved them forward to build a great life anyway! You can find it by Googling the photographer, Tenaya Fleckenstein. She did a great job!

In closing, listen to Martina McBride’s song, Anyway!

It will lift you up! Good night, and God Bless!

 

Talking with Lake County Fire’s Chief, Willie Sapeta

021  024

It was my pleasure

today to sit down in the office of Willie Sapeta, Chief of Lake County Fire Protection District, in Clearlake California. Although always busy with an endless list of responsibilities, he cordially accepted my request at an interview.

Upon sitting down, we discussed family, which if you know Willie, is his heart and soul next to public service. Of his wife, Rachelle, (pictured above), he simply said, “She’s just amazing.” His four children are his pride and joy, and with his eldest, Shelby,(also above), in high school sports, Willie gushed about her success thus far and how he couldn’t be more proud.

I explained the reason I was there to talk was not only to get his point of view of the Valley Fire, but also to ask him about any community involvement he may have witnessed during, and after the horrific inferno. What kind of contributions did he personally see come from citizens in our county.

Before I go any further, I’d like to tell you all, that I’m paraphrasing what Willie told me, as I didn’t bring a recorder. I am also not a professional journalist, however I DO hate it when they get things wrong! Ha! So Willie, if you read this and find I misspoke for you, please leave a comment in this blog, and within 24 hours it will be posted to correct me.

To begin with, 2015’s fire season really set off with a bang! The date of July 26th, being the most obvious point of reference because of the Dam Fire. Following that were several others, but the media started taking notice with the Rocky Fire, and then the Jerusalem Fire.

The mother of all fires was of course, The Valley Fire. It ate up 35% of Lake County’s landmass, and to date, Willie said it is California’s #1 worst fire for losing as many structures as it did, in as short a period of time as it did. This beating out even the Oakland Hills Fire, in that aspect.

To tell Willie’s story from the beginning, September 12, 2015, he was setting out to go to his son Logan’s, football game. He had stopped by the station for ice for their trip and ultimately, never left for the game. His wife retrieved their son, who was riding with Willie, from the fire station, and Willie was gone for days.

The fire started near High Valley off of Bottlerock Road. Willie heard over the radio from Middletown’s Division Chief, Linda Green, that a helitack crew was over run twice and then had to deploy their fire shelters due to entrapment. She initially called for 20 engines, 20 crews, 20 dozers, and would augment that with 40 additional engines in the next 10.

Everyone later learned that the helitack crew had all survived, but were sent to a burn center where they all stayed for days, receiving treatment for the burns they sustained. Niko Matteoli, Richard Reiff, and  Logan Pridemore, all made a full recovery. Their Captain Pat Ward, has recovered well, although he sustained far worse injuries, losing some fingers, due to the fact he was last to take shelter, risking himself to be certain his crew were all in theirs first.

So off Willie went, getting together a strike team and his department, like others,was stripped of resources, sending everything they could spare, including medic units. Eventually, becoming a Division Group Supervisor, Willie was sent to Hoberg’s Resort area.

Of the fire, Willie said, “The ominous, cyclonic smoke cloud was nothing short of amazing. It was truly Armageddon!”

The fire wasn’t the worst of the matter, it was more about saving lives. They worked with entities such as Highway Patrol, State Parks, and Fish and Game, initially, to evacuate the Cobb area in which he was working. All along, trying to get a handle on attacking the fire with the resources they had available.

Radio traffic was horrendous! There was so much going on at once, and the fire was taking on an unpredictable life of it’s own, that everyone was talking over the other, jamming the frequencies. Some confusion about what was happening with your crew could happen at times, because there was so much communication loss, and they couldn’t hear one another. Also, the cell towers were down, there was no PG&E, phone lines were down, so it was a mess.

Some of the engines sent got trapped with evacuees for a short period of time. With winds at 55-60 mph, and the fire storm so immense, there was spontaneous ignition of some homes! Truly a scene from right out of a movie.

From Hoberg’s to Evergreen, Willie worked in the first few hours, then going back towards the Cobb Station, it was just crazy! Things just were blowing up so fast, and the sound of exploding propane tanks made it sound like a warzone!

The evacuations went better than you would think, under such grisly circumstance. However, when he drove the Highway 29 from Middletown to Lower Lake corridor, there were burned out cars everywhere, just left on the highway. “I wondered, where were the people that were driving these cars?” Willie asked. Some vehicles were abandoned right in the middle of the highway. One could only imagine what those people went through, and probably are still going through today with PTSD.

“As a fireman,” Willie said, “I can tell you, that going through my mind, as I saw all those homes lost, I felt that every single home was the loss of someone’s life! Just like a doctor or medic would feel in losing a patient, as firemen, we feel the same thing if we lose a home. It contains someone’s life. In that, I can say, I still carry some amount of PTSD, with me today.”

As we both were tearing up, we talked of the next day.  He said, really, night fall came quickly because time was flying by and there was so much to do. By 5:00am the next day, it was 58 degrees and a light rain started, but it was all still burning. It did slow things down a bit though, allowing for assessments of the fire conditions. However, this fire was still unpredictable. What they do, he told me, is they have air attack assessments and reports on conditions, Cal Fire has their meteorologist assess the weather and then they make predictions based on humidity, fuel modeling, and years of drought.

But their plans for how to fight the fire went past, during the next day! The fire was already beyond the point where they had predicted it would be! It was amazingly unpredictable, and some temperatures were from 2500 to 4000 degrees. Where most fires leave foundations and chimneys in tact, in some places, this fire, if you touched the concrete foundations, it crumbled and turned to dust!

The fire went on and on, with Willie assigned up until October 6th before he was released. During this time he witnessed some disgusting people that would even put themselves in harms way, just to loot evacuee’s homes. He stopped what he saw, the best he could, but there were other amazing people he encountered.

Because of the erratic behavior of the fire, some homes survived right next to some that burned, and during the fire, one home was burning, and the firemen working that area, opened a coop that held chickens and turkeys. These birds ran from their cage to the neighbor’s house that survived, and still reside there today!

Others that were going door to door, like the Sherriff’s Department, Police, CHP, and Fish & Wildlife, including fire personnel, rescued animals whenever possible. Dogs, cats, one guy had a mule and sheep in the bed of his truck! And the veterinary offices! They were simply amazing, helping these animals however they could.

In that retrospect, truck loads of UC Davis pharmaceuticals, hay, grain, alfalfa, and all kinds of pet food were flooding our community, to help feed and care for these animals in need.

PG&E worked at record speed, as did AT&T, to restore poles starting the next day! The mobile command posts were helpful! POD’s, (point of distributions) were put up all over, as well as a local assistant center at Cal Pine. These were along side the many other areas that helped house people!

One place that stood out in Willie’s mind was the Lion’s Club Little Red School House. They set up with items to donate to evacuees for everything they could possibly need to camp outside. Tents, sleeping bags, lanterns, and tools. There were clothing items, food, toiletries, and more!

This was just the beginning! People who were probably on their last $5.00 came to donate to the firefighters. Waters, food, homemade cookies, it was very heartfelt and amazing. Others were local venders such as Walmart, who when the evacuees camped in their parking lot, gave them waters and food items. The local McDonalds, both Clearlake and Lakeport donated food items as well to both evacuees, and firefighters.

And it goes on! One entire football team from a Sonoma County high school came to sift through people’s rubble of their lost homes, to help look for anything that might have survived. In Fort Bragg, the city housed many people and fed them for free. And Cactus Grill in Clearlake, she made 100 burritos and brought them to Lake County Fire.  Cecil’s brought over 20 pizzas. An anonymous woman, dropped off 20 Tupperware containers of spaghetti, and Claudine Graf made an entire dinner for the department one night! These people all were looking for a way to give back and help.

Twin Pines Casino went all out! They housed in their hotel a ton of evacuees and fed them all. Hidden Valley Lake also fed people that were evacuated.

The thing that also happened, that most people may not think of, was the fact that the call volume for Lake County Fire and 911 calls were reduced by 25% during the fire. People in the community, that normally wouldn’t think twice about calling 911 for assistance of some sort, didn’t place calls, and reduced the number of calls the fire and medic personnel had to make. That was huge!

As his family walked in, and I had errands to run, we wrapped up our conversation. The way Willie lights up at seeing his family is touching. I have known Willie about 30 years from just living in the same community, and my husband Charlie, has worked with him for a really long time. He’s a very dedicated man, Willie, and I was honored to interview him and hear his story. I want to thank him for taking the time out of his dreadfully busy schedule, to humor this writing fanatic!

Willie, your information was essential, and much appreciated. It gives me joy to be reminded of the heroic and also humble people of our community here in Lake County.

Next Blog: Some things I’ve learned about the rebuilding process for some of our fire victims. Also, future interviews to be posted in upcoming blogs.

Conclusion of Sneak Peak

This concludes the first scene

in my book, Out Of The Ashes. If you haven’t read the first two entries that I blogged depicting this opening scene, you can scroll down to find them, beginning with Out Of The Ashes (sneak peak), then Sneak Peak Continues. This is the third and final blog of this opening scene, where Gabriel Hart first sees the object of his desire, Sarah McKinney. Read on and enjoy!

The bartender returned to say,

“Sorry to disappear on you like that, but things are hummin’ in here tonight. Let me know if I can get you anything else.”

“Huh? Oh, I’m good thanks,” Gabe replied without turning his barstool back. He was watching the girls settle into a corner table in the back of the room.

“You uh, ………Ok there my friend?” the bartender asked.

Gabriel realized he was rude and momentarily lost concentration. He had to almost shake his head in order to look away from the green-eyed girl.

“Sorry, man. No, I’m just fine, thanks,” Gabe smiled somewhat embarrassed.

“It’s understandable. I’m guilty of the same distractions,” the bartender said while staring in the girl’s direction himself. Suddenly, Gabriel looked at the guy and saw a dark shadow fall over the face of the otherwise cheerful bartender. “If you will excuse me, I need to grab some stuff, but I will be back.” and the bartender disappeared down the hallway.

When Gabriel turned his attention back to the girls, he saw a waitress over taking their orders. He didn’t want to seem too obvious with his intrigue, so Gabriel turned his barstool sideways to watch the TV screen and pretend to be interested in the game. Gabe hadn’t dated or even thought of dating anyone since Shelly. He just didn’t have the heart to let go of the past yet, despite all Shelly’s and his friends trying to set him up. He insisted it was too soon and he wasn’t ready to even think about it. They respected his wishes and left it alone. So that’s exactly what Gabe was getting use to. Being alone.

A strange feeling came over him though, sitting in that bar, and her quiet solitary mood, drew Gabe to look at her again. She looked like he felt, when HE was with is friends. Distracted, and uncomfortable, but trying to go along with the façade of the evening, she sipped her wine and looked around the room.

Suddenly, the girl locked eyes with Gabe and he felt a rush of heat flush is chest and face! She’d caught him looking with fixated eyes on her. Gabe tried to slowly, casually turn his barstool back towards the TV.

“Be careful with that one,” it was the bartender. He was back.

“What are you talking about?” Gabe pretended. He wasn’t ready to admit to himself that he felt interested in a woman, much less admit it to anyone else.

“She’s fragile. Don’t give it a thought unless you can respect that about her.”

Gabe looked into the bartender’s eyes. He was dead serious and had a somewhat cautionary look on his face.

“Not that I’m interested, but I take it you know her.”

“Everyone does,” he said. “She’s as local as it gets. But she’s had her fair share of hard knocks so, that’s why the warning.”

“Broken heart or?…….” Gabe’s question was left hanging in the air as the bartender stared at her pondering a response.

“Let’s just say it was shattered. She’s not recovered. Oh, she puts on a brave face, but her soul itself was battered. It will take a very special guy for her to ever trust or love again,” and the bartender turned and started washing dishes.

Gabe drank more of his beer and turned his stool back to look towards the girl’s table. The green eyed girl was shyly glancing towards Gabe periodically but then turned her chair to face her friends more directly. Gabe got the hint.

“Must have been some stupid guy to hurt a girl like that,” Gabe said in the bartender’s direction. “I know heart break man, and I can tell you, I have never been the player some guys are. I know something real when I have it. That’s just not something to mess around with. Don’t have time for it, ya know?” and he finished off the last of his fries.

The friendly bartender turned and gave a small smile to Gabe, as he took the empty plate away and wiped the counter. “If everyone had that same outlook on relationships, the world wouldn’t be so full of despair, and hate. Truth is my friend, that most folks are always looking for the next best thing. Nobody is ever quite satisfied with what they have. Especially if things get rough, that’s when the weak give up.”

“So that’s what happened? Some guy left her in hard times?” Gabe asked.

The face of the bartender seemed pained at the question and soon Gabriel was sorry he asked. It was beginning to look like there was more to this story than the bartender had first let on and Gabe immediately felt like he should retract any further questioning.

“Hey, I don’t mean to pry, you don’t need to answer that. It’s really none of my business,” Gabe offered.

The bartender gave a forced laugh, “No, no! It’s quite alright. It’s just that they were kind of local royalty, ya know. Everyone knew them. And the story has a crazy turn. The guy ended up dying in an accident too. So she was slammed twice!” the bartender waved his arms as if to brush away smoke and memories from right in front of him. “Anyway, what are ya gonna do, right? We all move on and so will she, but everyone here kind of watches out for her. Just so you know,” and he winked at Gabriel then walked back into the kitchen with the plate.

He knew he shouldn’t be, but Gabe was now more intrigued than ever about this green eyed beauty. It seemed so unfair that something as gentle as she could have gone through such trauma. And even though he was always missing Shelly, Gabriel had a yearning to get to know this girl. Approaching her in a bar was NOT the thing to do though, and Gabe knew it! She’d only think he was some slime ball trying to get her into bed. Some, out-of-towner looking for a one night stand. That couldn’t be further from the truth, so he dismissed the idea entirely.

Terrible timing! In the three years since Shelly was gone, nobody and nothing had pulled his heartstrings. Now here he was, just yards away from a fragile bird of a girl that he’d love to meet, and he couldn’t even go say hello for fear of her misunderstanding his intentions.

Gabe thought to order one last beer, just for a reason to stick around, but he was truly full to his eyeballs and there wasn’t going to be an opportunity to speak with this girl tonight without seeming forward anyway. Defeated, he decided to ask for the bill.

When the bartender came back he was carrying one more tray of clean glasses and set them behind the counter.

“Hey man, I think I’m ready to settle up,” Gabe said.

“Sure thing. Gonna turn in already?” he asked as he pulled the bill from his apron.

Gabe smirked and shrugged his shoulders. “Yea, I know it’s Friday night, but the week has been long and I think I will just fall asleep to the TV.”

“Big partier huh?” the bartender laughed. “I know, I’m pretty much the same. I can’t remember the last time I really tore it up. But I suppose we will be running into each other periodically since you are here awhile.”

“Yea, that would be great. I’m Gabe, by the way,” and he extended a hand to the bartender.

“Wiping his hand off on his apron, he reached to shake Gabe’s hand, “Max, and it’s great you guys are here to clean up so folks can rebuild.”

As he stood to go, Gabriel leaned in to ask one last question of Max, even though he wasn’t sure what he’d do with the information.

“Hey, Max? I don’t know why I’m asking, but………..what’s her name?”

Max eyes sparkled as he smiled at Gabe, letting him know it was ok that he asked. “Sarah. Her name is Sarah,” and he winked and disappeared back into the kitchen.

Thanks for following along! Keep looking for more to come in future blog posts.

Boosting Traffic

148  Hey There Friends!

I have been researching ways to bring more traffic to my site and just downloaded a program to help with that. Today, I am testing it out.

If you are new to my blog site, the sidebars have categories to choose from, but if you’d like to start at the beginning, (as I know I usually do), choose the archives and start in April, where it all began.

The main reason for starting this blog was to bring interest and get information, comments, and unity for a book I’m writing. It’s a romance novel revolving around the Lake County, Valley Fire of September, 2015. If you read some of the earlier posts, you can get a better idea of what I’m talking about, because it’s all there.

Thank you to those of you who have helped me in this process. I am very enthusiastic, and your support has been most appreciated.

Have a great day, and I will get back to regular postings. This one was only a test! Haaaa!

The Sneak Peak Continues……

  In the last entry,

I shared the beginning of Out Of The Ashes, with you. This blog entry will continue where we left off. If you haven’t read the actual BEGINNING, then I recommend you scroll down to read my previous blog post before reading this one. It has been my pleasure to share the start of my book with you. I hope you enjoy it.

   The woman bartender

appeared quickly in front of Gabe, placing his plated burger in front of him along with a bottle of ketchup. She gave a brief smile and quickly walked away to grab a chilled wine glass and a bottle of chardonnay to pour for another customer.

Just as his dimpled bartender promised, the burger was just what Gabe needed. The crisp, salty fries were cooked to perfection and he washed it all down with the beer. Before he could even ask for another, the guy just appeared in front of Gabe with a knowing look.

“Ready for another cold one?” The bartender leaned over to grab Gabriel’s empty bottle.

“Yea, you have great timing,” Gabe said.

As the bartender reached into a refrigerator under the counter, Gabe took a better look at him. The guy was a little older than he was with slightly weathered good looks. His light brown hair was a little long, and he was around Gabe’s height. When he set the beer down, Gabe could see he had deep-set, dark eyes that smiled just like his dimples. Although he was tanned, somehow, Gabe knew it wasn’t from being on the lake a lot. This guy seemed more like the outdoorsy, working kind of guy, like Gabe himself. That and his hands looked rough like Gabe’s. This guy didn’t spend his time inside bartending for his main living, that was for sure.

“So what do you do?” Gabriel asked as he took a swig of beer.

“Well right now, I’m your friendly neighborhood bartender. But I dabble in many fields. How about you?” the bartender asked.

“I’m here with the contractors for the fire clean-up. I’m staying at the hotel.”

“I’m surprised you didn’t head out this evening like the others then. Don’t feel like going home for the weekend?” he asked.

“Let’s just say, I can be just as occupied here as there,” Gabe replied, having another pull on his bottle.

“Well, it’s a pleasure having you here. I know there are a lot of folks really grateful for any help speeding up the recovery process. That fire really kicked this community’s ass! Folks need hope, ya know?” The bartender looked behind Gabriel, through the glass window into the atrium area at some women heading into the bar.

Gabe turned his barstool to look at what the guy saw.

The woman behind the bar asked if someone could bring in more clean glasses from the kitchen. Gabe’s bartender asked if he’d excuse him for a minute and left through the doors into the kitchen.

As Gabe turned his attention back into the direction of the three women heading into the bar, the glass door swung open, and they entered. The first was a lovely blonde with typically over-highlighted hair, jeans and heels. The next was a brunette in a long-sleeved dress and high heeled boots. Finally, somewhat behind and entering more slowly, was a thin, honey haired girl with her head down. She wore simple jeans, tennis shoes, and an open flannel shirt with a tank-top under it. When she looked up in the direction of her friends, her light green eyes were piercing, and something caught in Gabriel’s chest.

Next Blog: The conclusion of the first scene in which Gabriel first laid eyes on Sarah McKinney.

Interviews on the horizon still, and some information shared with me from friends on moving forward. How is everyone doing out there? It’s all pretty unique to the survivors.

Don’t forget to comment on the book, your personal experiences with the Valley Fire, or any words you wish to share. Feedback is great!

Out Of The Ashes (sneak peak)

I’m posting the first couple of pages

of the book instead of the interviews, which are not ready. Thought instead of putting off a blog post any longer, I’d throw y’all a bone and give you a sneak peak of how OUT OF THE ASHES, begins. Hope you enjoy it.

Gabriel was in a foul mood.

The excavating company he worked for brought him to this rural community in northern California, to clean up after the big Valley Fire swept through and destroyed over 1,000 homes. It wasn’t the work that was upsetting. It was the fact that it was the holidays now, and that time of year always left him blue. He thought being in a strange place would distract him. The truth was, it made him feel more alone than ever.

He was staying in the only hotel chain in the area. The Best Western was the tallest building in the small town of Clearlake, reaching 4 stories high. At least he didn’t have to share a room with one of the guys. Being a foreman, he got a room paid for by the company all to himself. That way he could sulk alone.

Three years earlier, just before Christmas, he was traveling on Interstate 680 outside of Fremont with his girlfriend Shelly. They were on their way to her parent’s house to stay for the holidays. Gabe had been living with Shelly in the Bay Area city of San Ramon for over a year, and since his family was back in Oklahoma, Shelly’s family was who they were celebrating with.

It was raining that Christmas Eve, and it was all over before Gabriel even knew what hit them. The papers said the multi-car pileup on the freeway was caused by poor weather conditions, limited visibility, and high speeds. Gabe suffered his share of injuries, a fractured arm, clavicle, ribs, and punctured lung, but Shelly’s side of the car was what took most of the hit. The doctors said she died instantly.

With little reason to move back to Oklahoma, Gabe stayed in California, and continued to work for the excavating company as a heavy equipment operator. It was decent pay and moving to a neighboring city of Danville, he tried to keep his mind off of Shelly.

Coming to Lake County, to help rebuild the lives of so many that lost everything in the Valley Fire, he thought would lift his spirits. Being lonely around the holidays was just something he couldn’t shake. This particular Friday, he thought of driving the 3 hours back to his apartment in Danville, but going to an empty place just didn’t sound like it would help. Maybe if he had a dog or something. But alone was still alone. He decided to just stay on at the hotel and go grab a drink in the lobby bar.

After showering and shaving, Gabe decided to head downstairs and grab a burger at the bar and a few beers. Maybe watch some football on the TV if it was on. He knew most of the guys would probably be headed back to the city by now but that suited him just fine. He’d seen them all week, and he wasn’t particularly close friends with any of them. Gabriel was somewhat of a loner, not trusting his heart to rely on a single soul.

To his surprise, the small town bar was slammed and lively. There were loads of people shooting pool, watching the game, and talking loudly over the jukebox. Behind the bar they had three bartenders, one woman and two men.

As Gabe walked in, several of the women stopped and gave him a second look. Not drop dead gorgeous, but Gabe was a substantially good looking guy. His 5’10” stature was muscular and it showed, through his t-shirt and jeans. His thick, dark hair was cut short, and his blue eyes were always a show stopper. That was what Shelly had told him she noticed first about him. That they were beautiful, but sort of sad looking. That intrigued her, she’d said.

Walking up to the bar, Gabriel waited to make eye contact with one of the bartenders to place his order. There was one lone seat at the far left of the bar, furthest away from the television, but closest to the kitchen entry. He could smell the aroma of cooking onions and sizzling beef. Suddenly he was famished.

“What’s your pleasure my man?” the gentleman taking Gabe’s order had deep dimples that accompanied a kind smile.

“Oh, a Coors Light please, and can I order food?”

“Of course. Do you need a menu or can I make a suggestion?” the bartender asked.

“Um…..well, sure. What do you recommend?”

“Well, the chicken fried steak is always good, but my personal Friday Night fav is a thick, juicy burger with sauted onions. We have shoestring fries that go great with it too.”

Gabriel thought the guy read his mind and quickly agreed to the burger and fries. The cheery bartender winked at him and said he’d place the order right away. The long-neck bottle of Coors Light was placed in front of Gabe as the bartender disappeared into the kitchen.

The Stanford game was on the TV but the sound of Bruno Mars was blaring out from the jukebox. Gabe swiveled his barstool around to survey the room while taking a long swig off his beer. The group was mostly his age or younger.

At 33, Gabe was an old soul. He never was a big partier and preferred more intimate gatherings. But somehow, being swallowed up in a crowd right now seemed more comforting. It was easier than being back in the city, with Shelly’s and his friends feeling sorry for him. Nobody knew him here, or his story, and that’s the way he liked it.

Next blog: The next few pages of the book, and how Gabriel Hart first saw Sarah McKinney.

Once I complete the interviews, they will be posted. Now that I have my summer off, I will be better at blog entries closer together, and still have time to write the book.

Thanks to those of you loyal readers and know your comments are always welcome and encouraged! Hope your weekend is full of peace, joy, and a little excitement!

Volunteers Are Amazing!

  Just days after the Valley Fire

the donations started coming in. Thoroughly generous citizens of the community started purging their belongings, trying to find items to donate to the evacuees of the fire. People and businesses donated items from bottled water, to baby formula, hygiene products, blankets, canned food, batteries, sleeping bags, pillows, and even underwear. Tons, (literally) of items were being sent to various locations for distribution to the suffering people who so desperately needed them. The problem was, who would take on and orchestrate this enormous task of organizing all these items?

The Red Cross or FEMA hadn’t even begun the effort yet because of all the proverbial “red tape.” It ultimately fell to the local citizens to help out their fellow neighbors and set up the locations, communicate with local authorities, and put in an ungodly amount of man-hours.

I turned to social media, as we all seem to do nowadays, searching for ideas on how I could help. I had gone through my own household and had my daughters go through their own belongings, to decide what we could do. Somehow that wasn’t enough, but it was a start.

I will say, that on my Facebook feed, two wonderful women who are really heroes to our community, took the bull by the horns and used our town’s fire department social hall to house thousands upon thousands of items to give away. Sarah and Melissa are rock stars! They not only spearheaded the operation, they ran it with three kids a piece in tow!

Melissa, having health issues at the time, refused to rest. I was there helping organize infant clothing by sex and size, and bagging up sets for giving away, while she ran around and told each of the volunteers like myself, what needed to be done. My 18 year old daughter, sorted baby formulas, pacifiers, and other infant items that continued to arrive while we worked. Melissa and Sarah had us all, working like fine oiled machines, like they did this sort of thing every day! I was truly in awe of them.

At the Clearlake Oaks Moose Lodge, people fed, clothed, and housed the homeless. Tents were set up and RVs all over the property. The kitchen was running full board. Strangers became family in the hours, days, and weeks that followed.

The Napa County Fairgrounds housed hundreds of Hidden Valley Lake and Middletown citizens that evacuated. There, they had showers, shelter, and were fed, as well as collected donated items they needed.  Other locations were the Clearlake Senior Center, Kelseyville High School and the Lake County Fairgrounds became the Valley Fire firefighters base camp. They used the bathrooms, showers, kitchen and made sleeping quarters, for all the firefighters that traveled from far away.

This was amazing to me. All the effort put forth from so many to do so much for people that they somewhat knew, or for others, didn’t know at all. The human condition is still compassion after all! I hated to admit to myself, but I’d all but lost hope in most people! The world is full of hate and bitterness, and all you ever hear on the news is negative. But THIS!! This was people reaching out with their hearts! I have renewed faith.

So this is why I felt so compelled to write Out of The Ashes. I saw so many people in pain, ashamed even to collect the donated items that they so desperately needed. I saw their pride shattered and some of their dignity stolen. I wanted to give the people that I both know, and don’t know alike, to read a happy story about what can happen after such devastation. Love.

If you would like to share a story of your own that you’d like to see in the comments of my blog, please add them here. You will see your comments in a day or so. If you would rather keep it private, but would like to contribute a story for use in a character in my book, you can email me at punkandude@gmail.com and I will get back to you as soon as possible.

Next Blog: As I’ve said, I would like to post the interview I promised, but it may end up as two separate blogs. It all depends on if I can narrow it down short enough to make it one.

Coming up, I will give you that first chapter. For now, I am looking very much forward to this Memorial Day Weekend. Thank a vet it you know one, and say a prayer for those serving now!

Sarah McKinney……Garbriel Hart’s love interest

  Introducing, Sarah McKinney!

The green-eyed siren who Gabriel Hart cannot deny!

The oldest daughter to a retired local butcher and widower, Sarah has always been responsible. She has lived in Lake County all her life, has two siblings, and loves her family!

At 28, she has seen her fair share of heartache, but still remains a steadfast friend, employee, and volunteer. Staying busy is how she copes with pain, and after losing her mother to cancer at age 14, she has been busy more than a decade.

Perhaps her biggest heartache came from losing her husband. Shortly after a huge altercation, her husband was killed while driving out of town. The pain from not ever fixing their problem, then having him die before they could make amends, haunts this young woman. She had attempted to move on with her life, but after a year of burying her pain in work, she still felt like she’d not gained any ground.

Then the fire came.

The Valley Fire wiped out so many people’s homes! People she cared about! The people of her community. Worst, her best friends from high school, Michelle and Caleb, had lost everything and nearly lost their lives escaping the inferno. Their pain and suffering made Sarah forget about her own.

Then one evening out with girls from work, Sarah happened upon a stranger in her town. She noticed him sitting at the bar, seemingly alone, having dinner. Not once since her husband’s death had she thought to look at another man. But this man at the bar had the most captivating blue eyes and genuinely seemed forlorn. Unlike the usual male species who frequented bars, this man was not there to pick up on women. He simply appeared to not want to be alone.

With a guarded heart, Sarah finds herself in a situation that brings these two together once more. This time, they are introduced and she cannot fight the immediate attraction she has for him. But attraction or not, she isn’t sure she is willing to let her wall down that she’s put up to protect herself.

Self-confident, but leery of getting too close, Sarah embarks upon a journey with Gabriel Hart, that meanders through familiar and also uncharted territory. Love was not on her agenda, but she is tired of treading water alone. Maybe Gabriel is the guy to bring down those walls. And if she is strong enough to allow herself to be vulnerable once more, maybe she will find second chances truly exist.

Next Blog: My experience with witnessing our volunteers in action here in Lake County, during the aftermath of the Valley Fire. Some of the best people in the world.

And later………..I still promise the interview with a local First Responder and…..YES! The first chapter of Out Of The Ashes!

The week is coming to a close. May your Friday be quick and your weekend move slow.

And The Winner Is………

Mike's FlowersMike's Flowers 2  Mother Nature has a way

of regenerating herself. Here are a few pictures, shared by my friend Mike Holland, of Big Canyon Road this spring. The wildflowers have been more spectacular this season than in any resent years. I know the much needed rain we had helped tremendously. I’m just feeling so much gratitude for the beauty that is here, raising itself from OUT OF THE ASHES!

So that’s the winner folks, it’s Out Of The Ashes.

My husband will gloat for a spell, feeling proud of his contribution to my project with his wit and insight. I must admit, the title has a certain symbolic attribute that I love. So I suppose a proper thank you, is in order, Charles Diener. I do love you.

Now that the title is set, I wanted to thank those of you who helped me to come to this decision. I take your opinions to heart and wanted to listen to each of you. More folks liked the idea of Out Of The Ashes, so now I feel I can move forward, more confidently, with the project.

My characters are developing quite nicely, and I feel I know them as real people. They’ve become so important to me, mostly because I feel they have been created with qualities of personality in mind, of those I already respect and know. They are genuine, sincere, flawed, but courageous too. I’m enjoying the process.

Next Blog: I want to tell you about my character, Sarah McKinney and introduce you to her. I am hoping you will fall in love with her, just as Gabriel Hart does. She is near to my heart.

Enjoy your weekend, my friends. “Eventually all pieces fall into place. Until then, laugh at the confusion, live for the moment, and know that everything happens for a reason.” – Unknown