Rhonda mopped sweat from her face. Finally! The packing was completed. They were ready to be evacuated. She and Rod had spent the last 20 hours choosing what must go and what they could lose should the fire invade their property.

All those years choosing carefully which knick-knack to bring back from vacations.

All those years of filling shelves with gee-gaws.

Honed down to 20 hours of decisions on what was really important.

In the end they crated memories: photos of those trips. They packed clothing and food and left the rest for whatever might happen. They saved themselves first.

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The Purplemoose clan is not in danger – but many of our friends are. The Kenai Peninsula is under attack from a huge woodland fire. Latest assessment shows approximately 96,000 acres burned or burning. Residents in an endangered area were evacuated last night – only to be allowed to return in a very short time. Wind and Fire are fickle friends. Kenai (our home) is inundated with thick, acrid smoke. People with allergies and other lung problems are encouraged to stay indoors with little activity outdoors. Pray for rain, friends. Pray for safety of the firefighters. Thank you

the above is my entry for Velvet Verbosity’s challenge: COLLECTION