Day 12 - a day late! of Twelve Days of Great Reads

Day 12 is Snow Covered Resolutions by Regan Black - hey that's me! It's another Hobbitville adventure starring: Austin, the girl who knows everything about every guy in the neighborhood. Having the insider information has left her cold and lonely and the only one without a date for the New Year's party.

Due to technical difficulties I don't have a cover to share - yet! But you can catch my full post about New Year's Eve over at Echelon Press Shorts. Or you can stay tuned here, and get some insider information!

As I said at the Echelon Shorts blog, New Year's Eve was always hosted at our house - a tradition dating back - well, not centuries but as long as I can remember. One year, all the guests had arrived and were in full party mode when our doorbell rang again. My dad answered and a man and his wife were on the porch, asking him to step outside for a moment.

Stranger Danger?!?

Well, Dad was cautious, but also a member of the big, tall, and intimidating club. So out he went into the snowy night to stare at our roof with this couple. Apparently, they'd been driving by and thought they'd seen sparks or fire on our roof.

The sparks flew while Dad was out there with them. He thanked them, went inside, and just to be safe, he called the fire department to come check it out. Firetrucks braved icy streets and arrived minutes later, sirens blaring, firemen rushing to task, hoses and axes ready, and tried to evacuate our party so they could work.

That would've been easy, if the Nebraska Cornhuskers hadn't been playing the bowl game that night. We had some die-hard fans who refused to leave the TV - fire or not - before the commercial break.

I'll never forget that night or cease to be grateful for the Good Samaritan couple who stopped to tell us about a spark! The neighbors graciously let our crowd of guests join theirs and we all managed to have a good time while the firemen saved our house.

The Chief told Dad our chimney had caught fire and if that couple hadn't interrupted our party, or if Dad had waited even another few minutes to call, we would've lost the whole roof and most of the house. As it was, there was a room sized skylight over the master bedroom for several weeks into the new year.

So here's to keeping the holidays bright and remembering what's important: love, friendship, peace, and kindness to all.

Finish 2009 strong, with a visit to Echelon Shorts to buy your 12 Days of Great Reads!

Happy Holiday Reading!
Regan