The apartment below mine was completely destroyed in a horrible fire on December 30th. The fire inspector told me that I was extraordinarily lucky and that I was spared from total loss by about 90 seconds and the amazing construction materials used to erect our circa 1919 building. I think about that all the time now. 90 seconds – the equivalent to the time I spend in line getting coffee each morning. If the firemen had arrived 90 seconds later I might have lost everything – my cat, all my photos and travel treasures, the art quilt my Mom made me when I was 18, my great-grandmother’s wedding ring from Hungary – it might all have been destroyed.
My neighbor was not so fortunate. He is a prolific artist. That night he lost all his artwork and supplies as well as his cat. I lost a few hand-made Italian frames that were damaged beyond repair and most of my fabric possessions to the smoke damage (couch, clothes, bedding,etc.), but my cat is alive, my apartment didn’t catch on fire, and the non-stop parade of fire inspectors, insurance inspectors, carpenters, and painters is finally over. The biggest loss? My sense of peace and security. The biggest gain? A shift in my outlook on life, possessions, and the value of art in my life.
[December 2012 – Just after I took this image I attempted to remove some of the seemingly intact items to put aside for my neighbor. When I touched the drawing in the lower-left corner it just disintegrated. The books were also a total loss.]
[December 2012 – Melted Polaroid image.]
[December 2012 – Melted plastic and a boot.]
[December 2012 – Couch frame and other debris.]
I took the above photos at 1 AM that night. My thoughts were moving like a million fast-moving freight trains and I was still deep in shock. Taking these photos helped me to begin to understand the scope of loss and the true nature of things.
Learn From My Experience:
- Sort through your possessions and donate anything you do not truly value and use. Be brutal – I promise you’ll feel more free once you do.
- Take photos of all your possessions once a year. Save them on an archival CD or DVD. Make two copies and keep one at work and give another to a friend or relative. Update the record whenever you make a new major purchase.
- Update your apartment/house insurance every year and whenever you make a new major purchase (camera lens, computer, couch, etc.).
- Make regular back-ups to your computer (where all those precious travel images are stored!). I use an external hard-drive. I bring it home once a week – the rest of the time it stays locked in my desk drawer at work.
- Hang an evil eye on your door. [I swear my evil eye from Turkey saved me. It even withstood the firemen axing down my door.]
- Fill your life with experiences – you’ll have the memories of places seen and friends made until you die.
- Enjoy the art you have. Remember that it has a life of it’s own too and will one day cease to exist.
- Use photography to understand your world.
- Cherish yourself and those you love.
- Value experience over possessions.
In Joy,
Melinda Eliza