As November marks the anniversary of the catastrophic explosion of a facility within a mile of my home, my thoughts relive the fright I experienced a few years ago. It was literally “The Fright of My Life.”

The temperature of that afternoon was crisp but not cold when I heard a loud boom . . .

The next thing I remember was finding myself outside down the street from my residence, watching a dark plume of smoke rising in the sky. A lady across the street from me, and workmen on my side of the street and I stood gazing in bewilderment at the murky sky just beyond us, wondering what had just occurred. The neighbor said everything hanging on her walls had fallen off and there was glass scattered on the floor. I stood in the street in my sock feet without the outdoor cane which I normally would have had with me.

As I later checked the news on local television stations, I learned there had been an explosion at a manufacturing facility not far from me which had rocked the area, causing buildings to be lifted off their foundations as though in an earthquake.

However, not only did I experience the “fight or flight” effect of the explosion, but all the contents of my building were somehow left intact. I don’t know about the contents of the church across the way. But its stained-glass windows were blown out. And shattered glass was on the sidewalk of the coffee shop on the corner.

Ultimately, my family and I, and the plant facility’s engineers/inspectors did substantiate that the lifting of my building had caused structural damage. It will be a long and costly process, but I plan to repair physical cracks to walls, hearths, ceilings, and more; these are visible. The invisible fracture to my feeling safe in my own home will take even longer.

Sometimes an event goes beyond our wildest imagination. But for me, it could have been so much worse. And for that I am grateful.

Remembering The Fright of My Life
Connie Carlisle Polley, 2026
ConnieCarlislePolley.com
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