From five miles away, the smoke rose nearly two thousand feet above the tall pine trees. It’s gray-blue plum acted as a beacon saying something is happening here.
What was happening? Exactly where was the smoke’s origin?
Was someone burning trash? No, the amount of smoke was too great.
Was it a raging forest fire? If so, it was only in an embryonic stage.
Was the smoke the signal of a controlled burn by one of the timber companies? Possibly, but the signs just did not look correct.
As I continued driving, a number of vehicles were assembling in the distance. The closer I got, the more recognizable the cars and trucks became. The wind changed and the smoke pushed its deadly midnight across the highway.
As I got nearer, I saw no flames. Murkiness gushed out the doors and windows of a small framed building. It was erupting in a lethal, black, thickness through the roof.
The Church in the Pines was dying from fire and smoke inhalation.
© 1990
Jimmie A. Kepler
Note: I wrote this back in 1990. I was driving from Beaumont, Texas to Jasper, Texas. I saw a plume of smoke in the distance. I wrote this later that day.
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Published by Jimmie Aaron Kepler, Ed.D.
Jimmie Aaron Kepler is an award-winning writer and poet. Born in San Antonio, Texas, to a career military father and stay at home mother, he lived in six states and attended eight schools before graduating high school. He earned a Bachelor of Arts in History with minors in English and Military Science from The University of Texas at Arlington, Master of Arts and Master of Religious Education degrees from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, as well as the Doctor of Education degree. His writing awards include the CIPA EVVY 2021 Bronze Winner in the Spiritual/Religion Category and the 2021 NYC Big Book Award Distinguished Favorite for Christian Non-Fiction for Kissing Guilt Goodbye: Breaking Free from the Shackles of Shame (enLIVEn Devotional Series Book 3) for which he was a contributor and the East Texas Christian Writer’s Confernce best short story award. Before writing full time, he worked as a US Army officer for 8-years, religious educator for 18-years, and as an IT software application engineer for over 20-years. He is a widower. He lives in North Texas with his cat Lacey. View all posts by Jimmie Aaron Kepler, Ed.D.
View all posts by Jimmie Aaron Kepler, Ed.D.
From five miles away, the smoke rose nearly two thousand feet above the tall pine trees. It’s gray-blue plum acted as a beacon saying something is happening here.
Great blog, I love your writing style. Thank you for the follow!
Very nice story indeed!