“nine-two-nine Grass”

Fire sirens are blaring!

Rush out of class

Bound down the stairs

Race to the fire station

Jump aboard the water tanker

Sirens screeching, lumber to the grass fire

On the hillside behind the campus

Too late, as usual.  Fire’s out

Frank has the top bunk

Next to the bulkhead

Where the fire gong is mounted.

When someone “pulls a box” somewhere on campus

The gong loudly proclaims the location of the box

“KLANG, KLANG, KLANG----KLANG, KLANG----KLANG, KLANG, KLANG---“

A specific code for each box.

That’s a LOUD gong.

Folks can hear it clear across the Quad.

Frank once slept through an alarm

His head no more than two feet from the gong.

Some people are heavy sleepers.

Robert Niel Beatie – February 24, 2013