APPLES IN FIRE SCARE

Electrical Mishap
Team Headquarters Is OK

Hoyuzmoyuz
Nashville,TN

In the end it was laughable, in the midst it was nerve wracking. So it was last night at the off season home of AGFHOF Don Bernitt and Apple Patty Pender.

The evening, which started off as any other normal off season night, quickly turned to one of moments of high anxiety and concern when it appeared the Apples Headquarters was on the verge of catching fire.

As is routine, Bernitt was kicking back reviewing game films of last years disappointing season when Pender asked aloud, "what was that?" to which Bernitt replied, "that was a bullshit call by the ump, I was safe!"

A moment later Pender was alerted by something unusual and said again, "what was that". This time Bernitt sat straight up and said, "that was another crappy call, there is no way that ball went over the fence in fair territory, had that umpire called it foul we would have only lost 19 - 0 instead of 21 - 0"

Another few moments passed before Pender and Bernitt both were startled when a loud popping sound accompanied by flashes of blue / green light were observed as the house lost power and went dark.

After gathering a few well placed flashlights, it became apparent that it was only the Apple house that had lost power while the homes on either side remained lite.

And then the fun began, after a few minutes of darkness half of the house had power restored while half remained dark. There was no pattern to the outage as certain pieces of electronic equipment functioned while others and overhead lights remained dead.

"This isn't good" said Bernitt aloud, "we've all heard of electrical fires burning down houses and something is definitely wrong." As they surveyed the situation, Bernitt then said "I smell smoke,we have a problem." It was at the moment that Pender pointed out, "the smoke you smell is coming from the wood burning stove,I THINK!"

Pender and Bernitt then calmly put Evacuation Plan A into action. They scurried about their 4 room mansion as they grabbed the memory sticks from computers and electronic picture frames that hold thousands of pictures accumulated over the years of Apple travels. Along with the sticks, they quickly packed a bag with several changes of clothes before grabbing the Wii Machine and heading outside into the pouring rain.

As tense moments passed, a call was placed to Nashville Electric Company who dispatched an emergency response vehicle to the Apple Palace. Upon arriving, the emergency crew quickly determined that the main power line from the pole to the house had "frayed" and although not completely rendered useless it was the cause for the electrical issues in the house.

"We'll have this fixed in 30 minutes" proclaimed the utility team as they raised the cherry picker into the dark skies of Appleville. Following the rain drenched efforts of the crew, there was heard the shout of "Let there be light" as electricity and calm were restored throughout the house.

"We witnessed a good lesson tonight" said Bernitt as he rebooted his laptop, "everyone needs to make sure that you have fresh batteries in all your smoke detectors and have a plan in the event of fire at your house." Added Bernitt, "talk with your kids and let them know what they need to do in the event of something like this, have a meeting place pre-determined outside and have a 'fire drill' at your house."

In the end, all is well, but don't for a moment think that there weren't some very nerve wracking moments last night for the Apples. As is always the way, Bernitt put it best when he said, "we have our families and friends, the other stuff is just stuff"

It is with relieve that we again can say...... How bout them Apples!