The Bravest Save an Ashtray

On my way back from lunch, I arrived at my office building to see the outside ashtray on fire. Or, more precisely, smoking. It was funny, in its absurdity. And I was ready to keep laughing, and keep walking, if it wasn't for my colleague who thought it was important to act. With the smell of burning plastic as proof of his urgency, we sprung into action.

I ran inside looking for water. It's funny how when you're looking for water, and more importantly, containers to transport the water, you can't find them. So there came a couple of moments of frustration. There were people around. I could see water. And still no way way to resolve the fire.

Finally, I bought some coke from the office vending machine. Emptied and refilled with water. And went outside to meet my friend. With care, he tipped the ashtray and poured water into its "mouth." It stlll looked funny. Like tipping a woman over in a salsa dance. The fire took a while to smolder and stop.

It was absurd, funny at times, but I'm glad we did something. It was a fire for crying out loud, and it had obviously been building for a while. When I look back though, I see the people passing by, as much as the fire brewing. We were as funny as the ashtray. Frantic and concerned. We were the oddballs. Odd because we weren't just going to walk by? Odd because we did something?