READER REPORT: (19) WHAT
WOULD YOU SAVE IN A FIRE?
GERARD O'NEIL www.stuff.co.nz 20/10/2010
Once someone was telling me about a tragedy,
which had struck their family. The family home been totally gutted by fire.
Even though they had full home and contents insurance, things never really
returned to normal, as it had been impossible to replace the things with
historical and sentimental value.
“It was as if someone had
cut us off from our roots,” he said.
FAMILY HEIRLOOM: 'The Man' arrived in Gerard's house in 1966.
Sometime later, I was
reading an article in a newspaper, which reminded me of the above story. The
article was about a firefighter in the United States who had received an award.
She had been part of a crew fighting a house fire when the order came to
abandon the building.
As everyone retreated, the
firefighter in question looked around her and became overwhelmed by the fact
that some family was about to lose everything and so, without really thinking,
collected up family photos and other items as she made her way out. Even though
the house was a total loss the family was extremely grateful for the
irreplaceable items the firefighter had saved.
The other day, as I was
spring cleaning I began to make a list of the five most important things I
would take with me if I had to abandon my apartment without notice.
5. My pen drives, as I still
have not managed to transfer all their information to the cloud yet.
4. Two coffee mugs. They were
the first things my wife and I bought together as a newly married couple.
3. My wife’s treasure trove.
In fact, it is an old shoebox, which contains what my wife considers her most
important correspondence. (All the Birthday and Christmas cards she has ever
received as well as the love letters we used to write to each when we were
courting).
2. An old chipped cup and
saucer my wife’s grandmother gave us just before she died. It is the last
remaining piece from a dinner set, my wife’s great grandparents had when they
immigrated to the country as poor immigrants.
1. My pillow!
If I were to make a list
for the things my parents have in their home I am certain within the top five
would be 'The Man'.
The Man first took up
residence in our house in 1966. He arrived by post as a Christmas present from
some distant relation. When he was unwrapped, everyone was mystified as to his
purpose.
My father however began to
suspect that perhaps there was something inside. It took him sometime to
discover how to deactivate the hat's plastic locking system, but when he did,
low and behold, The Man’s head was full of toffees.
Since The Man arrived, he
has fascinated generations of children and I cannot remember a time when he has
ever been empty. Over the years a tradition has developed. When The Man is
picked up, he is shaken and the magic words are said.
“I wonder what is in The
Man today?”
No doubt, sometime in the
future there will be a good-hearted dispute within our family as to who will
inherit The Man.
If you needed to abandon
your home and could only take a maximum of five things with you, what would you
take?
Let
us know the five things you'd save from your home, and why?
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