A happy hour called fire drill

We had a fire drill at work today and the experience evoked several memories and questions. When I was in school I had never participated in a fire drill and not because I didn't want to but simply because it was unheard of. Once in a year the fire department would send their personnel to demonstrate the horrors of fire and how to fight it. It used to be a fun day. Everyone would assemble in the play ground and wait in the scorching sun, squatting in the dust (much to the displeasure of mom's who had to take care of the dirt afflicted uniform). To overcome the boredom we would indulge ourselves in a variety of activities like archery (aka pelting stones at other kids), making crude drawings in the dirt or giggling away at everything and nothing! Well the fire fighters would eventually get there and start their demonstration/educations drill. On one such occasion I clearly recall that one of the firemen wanted to play trivia to test our knowledge of fire emergency. So he asked us, "suppose there is a fire in the building and you have to call the fire department from a public telephone, would you use a new 1 rupee coin or old one (the treasury had floated a new 1 rupee coin)?". After many kids answered unsuccessfully our HM (head mistress) Sujaya Devi was asked the same question. Now hold your breath because you are going to need it!! She said, 'I would of course use the new 1 rupee coin'. And she smirked at us thinking 'stupid kids don’t even know how to call the fire department'. The fireman replied 'madam, of all the people in the school you should know better!! Calls to the fire department are free from any telephone (like 911)'. Hearing this there was huge roar of laughter from the masses and by far I have never seen a better applause (or ridicule) in the history of the school barring once when the national flag ended in the chief guest's hand instead of unfurling on the flag pole! But that’s a story for another time.

Well, coming back to the fire drill at my office. As I was walking down the stairwell I saw a whole lot of people following suit. One thing I saw in common was that they all seemed to be happy that something had shaken them out of their boredom/routine. We all went to the designated safe areas in the parking and huddled in groups chatting. Some people utilized the opportunity to make a short visit to Panera. All was well and we all were happy with ourselves for the drill had been a success. But that only lasted a few more minutes until we had to make our way back up the stairs (owing to the overcrowded elevators)!!