THE DAILY PROMPT – Your home is on fire. Grab five items (assume all people and animals are safe). What did you grab?

Oh, to have a strong back, bigger hands, maybe resemble the hulk … than the first would be the Hoosier Cabinet. It was my Great Grandmothers, and it’s priceless to me.
So, failing that;
§ my Camera
§ my lil’Mac Mini
§ my Grandfathers antique camera
§ Fred the Ficus
§ the original photo of Grandpa as a baby in his christening gown

That is MY worst nightmare, suppose most everyone’s; having everything you own destroyed in a fire. Mom made Lexi and I when we were kids watch this program on CBC about why children should be careful around fires, and what to do, what can happen etc. Scared the living crap out of me. Mom was unapologetic, she said to me “I’d rather have you scared than dead because you didn’t know what to do”. She got that matter a fact, no nonsense attitude from Grandma. Sort of thing Grandma would say. Probably was Grandma’s idea we watch the stupid show in the first place, now that I think of it. She was the big CBC fan.

SO, there’s my list. Now, of course I love the Hoosier, and I also have my Great Grandmothers dresser as well … and they’re important Heirlooms … but photographs to me speak right to my heart. And Grandpa’s camera, well alot of those pictures of Grandpa I have were taken with that very camera. I scanned all the negatives when I had them and so those, as well as all my own photos are all on the drive.

And Fred…I can set all the rest of the stuff around his pot…and I’d drag poor Fred out, even if it killed me. We’ve been together for more the 20 years, maybe even almost 25 years now. He’s a big ol’ pain sometimes to find light for in my various apartments over the years, but he’s survived. Even survived the move to the city when the stupid moving company didn’t put him in a box. Temperature that day was -20 and he spent almost 3 – 4 hours in that truck. He went into dormancy, lost all his leaves and looked right and properly dead for a couple months; just a little sprinkle of suckers at his base kept their leaves. He came back. I went out and bought a pretty little yellow butterfly and put it on one of his branches. It seemed to perk him up.

Yeah yeah, ok, so I talk to my plants sometimes. Mostly Fred though, he’s the only one that actually listens.

The photo of Grandpa in his christening gown is from 1910 or so, and has the cardboard backing from the portrait studio it was taken at. Photos are very important to my family. When I was growing up we had a big ice chest that was filled with albums. Mom took pictures of EVERYTHING. Every baby step, every smile and birthday. Vacations to North Carolina and up at Nancy Island here in Ontario. Than there are old trunks up stairs with old portraits of the ancestors and all the original prints of some of these photos I’ve posted.

I guess I carry on that legacy of taking pictures, recording moments and telling stories. This blog represents bringing it all into the 21st Century … giving my ancestors a voice while I find mine. ;-)

This post is part of the Daily Prompt: Burning Down the House