Mid-afternoon on Thursday, a huge explosion rocked our neighborhood. The house felt it, and we certainly did. My heart was pounding. I was sure a bomb had gone off somewhere, maybe at the Mall of America.

Sirens seemed close, People in our circle were out of their homes, not sure how to react.

In a few minutes the first responders arrived on our street at the north end of our circle. A neighborhood man was in the ambulance headed for HCMC when we joined the curious crowd on our street. Rumors began. We were told the injured man had been handling flash powder when it exploded. The first story we heard was that he’d blown off his hand and injured his legs and his dog.

There were many police cars, firefighters, thrill-seekers – one man had heard the blast from 93rd Street – we are on 111. Soon the bomb squad arrived, the crowds were dispersed, the road was blocked off by police, houses were evacuated in the area nearest the man’s home. No one was allowed to enter or leave the area.

We were expecting two of our granddaughters to spend the night. I texted both families with the problem and the uncertainty of an “all clear” message. We finally postponed their visit as it grew close to 6. We got cleared at about 7, and we have since been told that the man is alive, a quantity of flash powder was removed from the home; the area seems back to normal.