Sad!

So, from our balcony, we don't have the most spectacular views of our beautiful town. But if you do happen to take a look, you can see a pretty rad temple and and old-school neighborhood. I have grown attached to the old, pieced-together buildings, with their illegal rooftop structures. There is (was) one place in particular that I enjoyed peeping out at: a rooftop apartment where a man housed dozens of doves and other birds in cages. I've seen him outside, tending to his birds, showing them off to friends, etc. But tonight his apartment caught on fire and the whole neighborhood watched it burn. It took the fire department about a half hour to respond, but the streets were so narrow that they couldn't bring their trucks close by. So the response time was delayed even further, as they tried to figure out how to get to the place. The firemen did contain the fire, but only after it had spread to two other apartments. So now the guy (who we realized escaped from the fire in nothing but his boxers) lost his apartment and probably all of his beautiful birds.
On that note, before I fell asleep last night, I was flooded with memories of Frank Strong. For those of you who don't know, he's a friend who passed away earlier this year. I have had many vivid memories of him since he left us, but this time it was different. It was all so positive. Dozens of images of him flooded my consciousness all at once. Images of how I remember him. Happy, always smiling and radiant. It made me smile, as it's one of the first times that I haven't felt pain and sadness in his memory. It was almost like he was coming to say hi.
By the way, this town is apparently known for the ghosts who like to hang around. Coincidence?