Tough decisions in trying times

By Staff
Kim West
Yesterday morning I headed out to East Franklin to cover a story about a fire that had destroyed a local family business.
While I was out there, part of my job included interviewing the business owners and taking photos of the damage, which was caused by lightning during the storm that passed through Wednesday evening.
I felt a little out of place as people kept stopping by to offer help. Instead of asking pesky questions, I kept thinking that I should pull on some work gloves and help the family clean up the rubble.
As I drove back to the office, I thought about what I would do if my apartment burned down and what I would save, if that was an option. I don't own a camera or a computer, and my bedroom furniture, which was a graduation gift from my parents, would be much too cumbersome to get down a flight of stairs by myself.
Thanks to an epic college career, I own several dozen T-shirts, and I also have a container of books, a carton full of VHS tapes and a drawer filled with DVDs ranging from Hepburn movies to Grey's Anatomy seasons, but all of these items are replaceable.
The only thing I would grab, other than my three roommates, would be a cardboard box that holds photos from my childhood, school years and even my first trip to the beach last month. If I had time and a spare hand, it would be nice to take my stuffed sheepdog and a gym bag because then I would have a pillow and a change of clothes.
It's amazing how many material things you can accumulate during a lifetime but don't really need. But the story also reminded me of a conversation my roommate Katrice and I had several months ago when she suggested that we get fire insurance.
I think I said something about not needing the insurance because I don't own anything valuable like her flat-screen TV, laptop and all of the furniture in our living room and dining room.
I believe everything happens for a reason, so maybe there's a good reason why I just happened to cover that story because typically one of my co-workers would have been given that assignment. I think when I get home today, I will ask Katrice about that insurance.