This Is Not a Test

About 11:30 this morning at work the fire alarm went off. No one had told us about a fire drill (we usually know about them in advance), so we left the building in an orderly manner. We gathered by the monument to fallen Peace Officers. We all thought it was a surprise fire drill, because we had gotten an email last week saying that everyone must participate in the drills. Evidently, some people weren't actually leaving when we had a drill. I can't imagine that to tell you the truth - a government employee not leaving his or her office when given half a chance? Well, anyway, we go to the Peace Officers Memorial, and I start thinking that we used to go down the street to a nearby park and check in at one of the picnic tables. So, I head off in that direction only to run across a group of people from my office coming back from there. They told me that no one was at the picnic table. I went back to the memorial and was gossiping about someone's promotion or lack of it with a person I know, when they come over to get me, because I need to sign in and be accounted for. Shortly after that we re-enter the building. I learned later that it wasn't a surprise fire drill, it was the real thing. There had been a fire on the 5th floor in a file room. It sure was a nice spring day outside. I wonder what will burn around here.