AsktheBuilder.com Issue #1316 (Not Sure!)

January 12, 2025

Dear ,

"You look for treasure in the wrong place, Mr. Lovett. Only life is priceless... and making each day count."

(Old Rose - Titanic 1999 Movie CLICK HERE to watch)

"...Best start putting first things first. 'Cause when the hourglass runs out of sand, you can't flip it over and start again. Take every breath God gives you for what it's worth." (Kenny Chesney - Don't Blink CLICK HERE to listen)

"Is...is there a Heaven? 'Oh yeah...it's the place dreams come true.'...maybe this is Heaven. " (Ray and John Kinsella conversation - Field of Dreams CLICK HERE to watch)

"Not Good"

That's the simple text I received from my very good friend Steve just minutes after noon four days ago on January 8, 2025. He sent this photo to me:

My heart sank. It's as if I had been suckerpunched in the gut.

I could only imagine how HE and his wife Karin felt.

Steve and Karin live in Altadena, CA. 

Well, they used to...

Their house was destroyed by the Eaton wildfire in the pre-dawn darkness of January 8, 2025. They had been forced to evacuate in the early evening of January 7th.

All they had were the clothes on their back, their computers, and some other belongings.

A life's worth of prized possessions, memories, photos albums, etc. were left behind.

Fate stepped up to the clicking carnival game wheel and gave it a twirl. The Santa Anna game wheel would spin for the next few hours and determine if Steve's HOA would be subjected to the blowtorch of 80 mph winds and airborne embers.

Steve and 52 other neighbors would lose. Two hundred and nineteen neighbors would win.

Why am I investing so much time sharing all this with you?

Steve is to me like the brother I never had. I've known him for twenty-five years. He and I were two of the four founding members of a secret Internet mastermind group in 1999. Steve is my go-to guy to fix things under the hood of my many websites.

Karin is his lovely wife.

How Many?

Have you ever stopped to think about the task of fighting a house fire? I wanted to be a firefighter back in high school.

I drank in everything about the profession like a thirsty hiker gulps water coming up out of the Grand Canyon on an August day.

Have you given much thought to the number of firetrucks that show up to extinguish a typical house fire?

You might see between three and five trucks show up in the average city. Triple that number here in rural central New Hampshire where I live.

A serious house or barn fire creates an immediate mutual aid request. Trucks, men, and women from all the neighboring towns descend to help. There are no fire hydrants out in the country. Water is brought in by tanker trucks.

Now think about Steve and Karin's situation. At the bare minimum you'd expect to see about 160 trucks in his HOA trying to deal with the conflagration.

The buried water main in the streets is not sized to handle fifty 1,200-gallon-per-minute sucking water like a newborn gorges on its mom's breastmilk.

Is it starting to make sense why the Los Angeles area was in a zero-sum game? The homeowners there didn't stand a chance for the most part. There weren't enough resources and the area is so immense.

Only a few lucky homeowners might win if the fire department shows up on time and DECIDES their house is where they draw the line to stop the advance of the wildfire.

Look Up Close

I want you to look at these additional photos of Steve & Karin's house. I want you to try to imagine being the person TAKING THE PHOTOS.

I want you to feel the sorrow and pain Steve felt when he could finally visit what was left of his home three days ago.

If you want to HELP Steve & Karin in this time of GREAT NEED, then click any one of the photos. I set a very modest goal.

It's my HOPE that you and I exceed it by a factor of ten or more.

A Marshmallow

Did you click one of the photos? 

Did you wonder about the title I created for the GiveSendGo campaign I set up for Steve & Karin?

In the face of such tragedy, Steve still maintained his my-cup-is-overflowing attitude.

He and I are members of a new secret cabal. A handful of members live in southern California. The leader of the group asked everyone to check in just as the fires erupted.

Here was Steve's response:

"We're safe but sadly the fire mistook our house for a marshmallow. Still waiting to be allowed back to assess the remains."

How can you NOT help a person with this attitude?

I think you can see why I love Steve and Karin so much.

If there is ANY WAY you can share the link to their campaign page with your friends, family, etc. I'd appreciate it.

Every dollar will help.

CLICK HERE

If you can't give money, perhaps you can leave a prayer.

Thank you so much for all you can do.

"Yeah, right. That's the way it is. It's down there and I'm in here. I guess it comes down to a simple choice, really. Get busy livin' or get busy dyin'.

Andy Dufresne just before he escapes from Shawshank prison.

CLICK HERE to see this classic movie scene.

#DoNotComply

Once bitten, twice shy...

Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel

The BEST Love Story of all time - well, maybe a close second.

That's enough for a Sunday morning.

Peace out.

Tim Carter (PhD, FullyAwakeology)

Founder - www.AsktheBuilder.com

Electromagnetic Adventures: www.W3ATB.com

My Pronouns: Told/You/So

Do It Right, Not Over!