Firefighters were still dousing his Tucker house with water when State Sen. Curt Thompson started digging a hole in the backyard to bury his pets.
He lost one dog, three cats, a bird and a tank full of fish in the February fire that destroyed his home. Thompson, D-Tucker, had to throw away the suit he was wearing when he came home to see the damage. The new iPhone he had in his pocket stopped working because of the soot.
One dog, ChaChi, survived. His grandmother’s oak bedframe was salvageable . And months after the fire, when bulldozers were going to take down the rest of the house, Thompson discovered a handful of houseplants that were still alive.
But in the shock that came with losing everything, Thompson found that the platitudes that legislators often say from the Senate floor can be true.
“You realize these people really do have your back in spite of all the partisan crap,” he said. “They’re family. You almost don’t believe it when you’re in it. You realize it’s real when something like that happens.”
One senator gave him a guitar, he said — he lost five in the fire. Someone else brought toiletries to the hotel he was staying in. Others brought clothes, a blender, food, cash to help him out while the insurance claim went through. A state representative Thompson had never met before gave him a suit.
“I’m definitely grateful for how people helped me in that personal way,” he said. “It is a type of blessing in the midst of tragedy.”
This year, Thompson said, he’s remembering to laugh at things. He’s seeing how much he can live without. He’s made new connections, including with the neighbor who alerted him to the fire.
And Thompson, a lawyer who spent a night in custody earlier this month after a Douglas county judge found him in contempt of court, said he is also grateful for his faith.
“When there’s no one else to talk to, it reminds you you have someone else to go to,” he said. “It can sustain you and it does give you hope. It reminds you that it’s not all bad.”
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