As is the Anderson way, this week has been very exciting! We've hung out with friends, attended the amazing Grange Fair a few miles out of town, and our apartment complex caught on fire.
The grange fair is a very "hick" experience. While on our way there, Sam commented that his button-up shirt was too dressy for the affair. I commented that the fact he had a shirt on was too dressy. Regardless, it was such a fun time! I ate a fried pickle, and we watched powerful tractor pulls.
By powerful tractor pulls, I mean to say that they are dragsters, huge smokestacks and headers jutting up from the small front end. Several tractors had multiple engines. Most tractors had a tiny front end with wheels like you would find on a backyard go-cart. However, a few feet back, the driver sits between two huge tractor wheels taller than any of the drivers, with a small roll cage just above the driver's helmet. When first taking off the tractors spin all their wheels and throw plumes of dark black exhaust up in the air, just as loud as any drag race. It was quite the experience. My favorites were a shiny purple 2-engine tractor with red flames named Vengeance and an older red tractor named Rusty Ballz. A shirt I saw describes the demographic well. An older man with worn cowboy boots, blue jeans and a shirt reading "God help the hemi-less".
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| Sam figured out how to protect his money-makers while taking a sip. |
Here are some other photo's from the fair:
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| I hope you can see this, but that stuff in the background is all RV's. There are just as many out of the frame to the left. MASSIVE |
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| There was a ton of equipment on display. |
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| Matt trying to be taller than the wheel. Sam telling cool stuff about John Deere tractors. |
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| Nearby was an advertisement for "bucket 'o' fries" literally |
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| The actual napkins served with the fries. Kudos to how they made them though, we saw them peeling and cutting the potatoes fresh. |
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| Some of the tents, creatively decorated |
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| A fair-must |
As far as the fire is concerned, our apartment wasn't damaged-but it came pretty close. When we were helping some neighbors move in, we saw and smelled smoke from our neighbors directly underneath us. Worried, we called out and asked if everything was ok. One of the four Indian grad students that lived there said they had thrown a cigarette into a cardboard box and it lit some things in the box on fire. He pointed to the smoking cardboard box now on the balcony and said he was just airing in out now.
Fast forward less than 2 weeks, and while cooking dinner before preparing to leave for the fair. I was smelling something like burned plastic, and couldn't figure out where it was coming from. I made sure it wasn't anything I was cooking, and asked Sam if he smelled it. Sam said while busy playing a racing game and insisted it was somebody BBQ-ing. I saw plumes of white smoke and had the opposite reaction. Remembering what happened with our neighbors downstairs, I sprinted down and saw that there was indeed a cardboard box on the balcony, but the box edge was on fire and right next to the wall. I banged on their door several times and sprinted up the stairs. I yelled that there was a fire, and Sam disbelieving ran downstairs to see for himself. By the time I had taken to run down , up, and down again the box was in full flame, but right next to the balcony siding which was on fire and starting to melt off. Sam believing this time, sprinted up once again and grabbed the fire extinguisher while I pulled the fire alarm.
Sam was able to put the fire out, and shortly the police and fire department showed up. We gave our statements, and counted our blessing that we had not left 10 minutes earlier, or that the fire had started inside the apartment. If we had taken an extra 5 minutes to put the fire out, I am sure it would not only have consumed our balcony, but have gotten to our apartment. Also, judging by the 20 minutes it took to get the fire department here, not much might have been left. It worked out well, and the guys downstairs are receiving several hefty bills from both the apartment complex and the fire department as well as a sit-down talk from the fire department. They also came by the next day to personally apologize on what a stupid thing it was to do. We're getting renters insurance. I didn't get a before picture but here is a picture of after the fire department ripped all of the burnt insulation and siding.
Exciting PA! We'll be heading out for a DC trip this weekend to meet up with sister Mary who's in the area for a wedding. We'll post those exciting adventures after we get back!
