Many of you were expecting the Jack McEneny article to appear on the site today. However, it's still not ready in part due to a tragedy that hit much closer to home – my friend's house burned. I really do not know the extend of the damage, and only found out from it from another passing by friend who happened to hear about it on the television news.

Apparently nobody was injured and it was largely limited to an attic fire. I haven't heard directly from the friend exactly what happened so it will be a while before I know how I can help. Yet, I think helping him out will clearly be a priority over other things I'm working on. Suddenly when it comes to a good friend, shoveling wet burnt things into a dumpster seems like an enjoyable thing.

You hear about these things all the time in the news. Most of the time it's just another boring old fire with shots of flame, smoke, and water and the bravest men on earth putting out the fire. It's always somebody's else's tragedy and has no bearing on our own lives. We seem to somehow separate it as being different from ourselves until it comes close to home. I now seem to understand how it must feel to be parent or a family member of somebody in Iraqi or a victim of a horrible crime.

Nature and fire sure are powerful things. We use fire all the time to make our lives better, but then when it accidentally tears through and burns up things we love, it becomes such a horrific evil. Modern society could not exist without the benefits of combustion, but uncontrolled it reeks such havoc. And when it strikes home we all have to reflect.