Everyone on my block has a Joel story. Mine dates to the very day I moved into my house on Briggs Street.
It was springtime 2017, and on that very first night, a fire broke out on my block. Around midnight, emergency sirens screamed out, and a fleet of fire trucks jammed onto the small side street. For a few frightening moments, I watched helplessly as flames shot out the back of my neighbor’s row house.
The fire bureau, thankfully, quickly doused the blaze, and, finally, at maybe 3 a.m., I fell back asleep—but that wouldn’t last long…