Fiiiiire!!

Invariably, the fire originates from some over-stuffed shit-can, breezeways littered with sidewalk play equipment, choked with a trapeze-like swirl of drying lines, and sagging, potted crops.



Commonly, in even the smallest bedrooms of these over-burdened court-style buildings, large electronics consoles dominate, trophy possessions, powered by crimped, undersized, extension cords daisy-chained in an disjointed bramble.











As part of some broader laissez-faire social contract, the occupancy limits go widely unchecked, the burdens usually borne by shell-shocked home owners in marginal neighborhoods, previously victimized by decades old capital flight and economic re-tool.





In this case, my favorite two houses on the 4100 block of Woodlawn escaped nearly unharmed. The fire spread to the carriage house of "Big Yellow", compromising the structure and likely resulting in five years of higher home insurance premiums for the owner.

The water sogged burn wood lay along the parkway for three weeks. Several times I was tempted to salvage the window hardware from a charred, double-hung. Dump items attract dump items, and for a time the pile grew outward, topped finally by a laundry basket of boys clothes and a cotton-twill suit.

Finally, one day it all disappeared.