I'm So Embarrassed

I've spoken often of our next door neighbors. The couple is very old. He is a Marine who served along side Chesty Puller in Korea. She is a devoted wife of many years but slipping away due to dementia. We talk often through the fence and we are probably the only company they have these days. Last week we were told the family has finally decided to put them in a home. They are worse off than they thought. They will sell the home and they will retire to a facility they can be cared for 24 hours. It made me so sad.

Fast forward to today. A fire alarm/ co2 alarm was going off over there. I couldn't get them to answer the door. I know both are losing their hearing so I wasn't sure if anyone was even there but a vehicle was in the drive. My thoughts were spinning. What if he did not want to go to the home. What if he turned on the gas? What if they have fallen or one doesn't even know the other is hurt...I don't smell smoke or see it. But the alarm..

So I called the fire department. They came quickly and the couples son came to the door when the firefighters banged on the door. I was shocked because I had just knocked and got no response.

As I stood in the driveway waiting to make sure they were okay, I heard the alarm much clearer beside me. O..m..g..it was coming from the recycle bin in front of their house. I put my ear closer it was in there! Not coming from the house.

Their son (who is older than my parents btw!) Walks out and says "yeah, sorry if it was annoying you. I didn't know how to make it stop!" I opened the recycle bin and it was in there with a bunch of paint thinners, varnish, other toxic chemicals etc. I guess closed up in the box it registered carbon monoxide. The firefighters had it turned off in like three seconds.

I apologized to the firefighters for wasting their time and just walked away because I was embarrassed but also pissed because their son was just so nonchalant about how freaked out we were and worried for their parents who up until Christmas hasn't been around since we moved in two years ago.

Also, inside the recycle bin with the alarm was a ton of family photos and old journals. It broke my heart. Their lifetime of memories tossed to recycle. 

I guess I'm just glad they are ok. I'm going to miss them.

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