So the other night, I was grilling on my balcony when two fire trucks, an ambulance and an emergency pickup truck pulled up and created another traffic jam in front of my building.
"Trouble in the neighborhood," I thought, before flipping my steaks. I didn't think much of it at the time but I guess it sparked some interest so I snapped a few photos.
It was actually the first time I had ever seen fire trucks in this fair city. I feel like in America, they are paraded around all the time as they have a constant presence.
Not here. So any time multiple trucks show up, one would think something out of Backdraft is consuming a building with screaming orphans trying to jump out windows.
About 10 minutes after their trucks pulled up, I noticed a little commotion on the streets.
"Hmm, lots of trouble in the neighborhood," I thought before walking back into my apartment to pour another glass of wine. My lady and I were about to sit down to a delicious dinner and she was inside the kitchen working on mashed potatoes, fresh salad and sautéed mushrooms.
A few minutes later, I heard someone on the balcony next door screaming Arabic into a walkie talkie of some sort. Then it hit me... Oh shit.
The door bell rings.
Next thing I know, we had eight emergency responders huddled inside our apartment looking for a blaze. Most of them took off their shoes before they entered, which was polite but how are you going to fight a fire in your socks?
After they saw a dinner table set and when I showed them the two tenderloins comfortably sizzling on the grill, frustration came to a head and about half of them turned around and stormed out.
There were a few stern warnings from my building's security guard, who had to look tough in front of the almighty firemen but I think the general consensus was that this was a huge waste of their time.
It was the product of paranoid neighbors, I reckon. Sure I like to spray a little lighter fluid on the charcoals to get them going. What American doesn't like to do that? How else are you supposed to start a charcoal grill??
Are you even allowed to have open grills on the balconies in our building? I'm not sure. But this is not the time nor the place to start a debate. I was right; they were wrong. Let's leave it at that.
Oh, and after all the commotion, the steaks were delicious...
"Trouble in the neighborhood," I thought, before flipping my steaks. I didn't think much of it at the time but I guess it sparked some interest so I snapped a few photos.
It was actually the first time I had ever seen fire trucks in this fair city. I feel like in America, they are paraded around all the time as they have a constant presence.
Not here. So any time multiple trucks show up, one would think something out of Backdraft is consuming a building with screaming orphans trying to jump out windows.
About 10 minutes after their trucks pulled up, I noticed a little commotion on the streets.
"Hmm, lots of trouble in the neighborhood," I thought before walking back into my apartment to pour another glass of wine. My lady and I were about to sit down to a delicious dinner and she was inside the kitchen working on mashed potatoes, fresh salad and sautéed mushrooms.
A few minutes later, I heard someone on the balcony next door screaming Arabic into a walkie talkie of some sort. Then it hit me... Oh shit.
The door bell rings.
Next thing I know, we had eight emergency responders huddled inside our apartment looking for a blaze. Most of them took off their shoes before they entered, which was polite but how are you going to fight a fire in your socks?
After they saw a dinner table set and when I showed them the two tenderloins comfortably sizzling on the grill, frustration came to a head and about half of them turned around and stormed out.
There were a few stern warnings from my building's security guard, who had to look tough in front of the almighty firemen but I think the general consensus was that this was a huge waste of their time.
It was the product of paranoid neighbors, I reckon. Sure I like to spray a little lighter fluid on the charcoals to get them going. What American doesn't like to do that? How else are you supposed to start a charcoal grill??
Are you even allowed to have open grills on the balconies in our building? I'm not sure. But this is not the time nor the place to start a debate. I was right; they were wrong. Let's leave it at that.
Oh, and after all the commotion, the steaks were delicious...
Great post! Love this paragraph: "Are you even allowed to have open grills on the balconies in our building? I'm not sure. But this is not the time nor the place to start a debate. I was right; they were wrong. Let's leave it at that." Glad to see you starting trouble on the other side of the world!
ReplyDeleteThanks, cuz. But for the record, I never start trouble. Somehow, it just follows me wherever I go...
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