View from my window on the Saturday before Thanksgiving. A building caught fire down the street. I live across from a hospital, and my neighborhood is full of old-money geezers, so it's not unusual to hear a siren go by. But this round of sirens seemed more urgent and for good reason! Flames and smoke were shooting out of the roof, but the firefighters had it controlled in 15 minutes flat. Makes you think about how much you have to trust your neighbors to, say, not leave a candle burning. When M took a neighborhood emergency training course, the fire marshall said that hair dryers left plugged into the outlet are often the cause of deadly fires.—SF