Hotel Fire

This was a great vacation.  We reconnected as a family.  We laughed.  We ate terrible, terrible things.  We saw an amazingly bad/good/bad cover band duo.

But this will go down in history as Luca’s best vacation of all time.  Why?  Because our hotel had a fire.

It was bedtime.  Elijah and I were staring into my computer on the couch while Diana and Luca wrestled in the bedroom.  Suddenly, the speaker on our ceiling started blaring. 

A pre-recorded voice shouted, “There is an emergency at the hotel.  Please evacuate immediately.  Elijah, please completely freak out.  Luca, assume the role of savior.” 

Or something like that.

I assured everyone that this was most likely a false alarm, but we should do what the recorded voice says.  Giant tears began streaming down Elijah’s face.  As we walked, I repeatedly told him this was nothing.  Nothing to be scared of.  He was okay.  I almost didn’t notice Luca, who was shouting instructions at the top of his lungs.

“Everyone!  There is an emergency!  EMERGENCY!  Get out of the hotel!  Don’t use the elevators!  Use the stairs!”

As we entered the stairwell, there were other guests of the hotel, trying get out.  Luca screamed at them to get out now.  Do not use the elevator (which was easy since they were already in the stairs).  I tried shushing Luca so he didn’t scared the crap out of the guests, but he was in full firefighter mode.

We made it outside and the hotel manager told us someone in the kitchen overcooked some rice and set off the alarm.  The local fire department had to come shut it off.

And then Luca’s night got even better.  The Ft. Meyers fire department arrived in a big red truck.  Two massive firemen came out and did their job.  Luca swooned.  The larger, friendlier one took notice of this small boy who had lost his voice due to instruction screaming and asked if he wanted to sit in the truck.

A tiny squeak came out of him as way of acceptance. 

To top it off, the giant men gave Luca the same plastic fire helmet he’d received at least three other times from other firemen.  But this one was special.  It was given in the line of duty.