Fire and a DEATH!
Aarons next tragedy would soon happen after entering High School. While a Freshman in High School, Aarons family suffered another house fire. This time unfortunately the entire family wasn't gone. Just the adults. The Boy had gone to work and mom was down the street working at an old folks home. Due to an old woman who thought bugs were attacking her, Aaron and his brother couldn't get their well needed sleep. So Jerry Lee asked mom if they could go home (only two houses down). Seeing how Aaron was 14 (almost 15), his mom thought he was old enough to keep an eye on his younger
brother (Jerry Lee was 11 at the time). Boy, was she wrong about that. So, unknowing what the night held, she sent both boys home to get some sleep.
The two lads went home and being so tired; Aaron stopped off in his mothers room and crawled in her bed to sleep (both boys loved sleeping with their mother, and since The Boy worked graveyard, mom didnt mind). Jerry Lee wandered off to their room to sleep. Some short time later (exact time is unknown at this point), Aaron awoke smelling smoke. Being half asleep (or is that half awake hmmm), Aaron thought maybe his mom was cooking breakfast and had burnt something. Boy, something was burning, alright.
After a few more minutes of breathing the smoky air, Aaron finally realized that something was amiss and fully awoke. Looking around the dimly lit room (lit?), Aaron saw it filling with smoke. Plus there was a strange light coming from the hallway, barely illuminating the small room. That was when Aaron could hear the fire burning in the other room and finally noticed the smoke and light for what it was. Aaron's family home was burning down.
Rushing in to the living room, Aaron called for his brother through the fire and choking smoke. Unable to hear his brother, he thought that Jerry Lee had already escaped, so Aaron turned and fled the fire that was coming towards him. Rushing out in to the still night, Aaron ran down to where his mother worked. He pounded on the door. Being in the back of the house, his mother couldnt hear him. So he tore back off in to the night to the neighbors house. Finally he found someone home and that he was able to awaken. He yelled at them to call the fire department, and then streaked towards his grandparents house (on the same block). His grandfather rushed out to try and help put out the fire (as he did a few short years earlier). Getting back to the house, they found it a raging inferno (that wasnt a simple thing to put out). Moments later a neighbor (who was a member of the volunteer fire department) rushed over, grabbed up the nearby water hose and attempted to extinguish the fire. Soon there after other firemen appeared, followed shortly by his mother.
At this point, they realized that Jerry Lee was still in the house.
Jerry Lee was pulled free, but too little, too late. He was sent to the hospital with 3rd degree burns over 70% of his body. He was in the hospital for two weeks and underwent several skin grafts. Several times while they were attempting to heal him, they thought they were going to lose him. But the argumentative kid he was, hed pull through, just to prove the doctors wrong. Then when the doctors figured he was through the rough patch and things were looking better, that's when he decided had had enough and passed away.
He died on Dec 12, 1984. He was 11 years old.
That was Aaron's greatest failure. His biggest regret to this day.
© Aaron *Brother Head* Moss 2011