sighting three

yesterday:
after three days of not starbucking, my mind finally cleared enough to remember that the beach is a really good place to spend an afternoon. as i drove past the overcrowded parking lot i noticed black smoke coming from that area. i figured it was the result of an over-zealous barbecuer. i glanced over to see...not a sunburned man in a chef hat wilding waving a spatula, but the hood of an suv ON FIRE.
i thought about calling an emergency number, but decided someone else, like the owner of the car, had already done so. (i do realize this is the same assumption that many people make, which causes some emergencies to become disasters, but i was on VACATION.)
the clouds of smoke got blacker and bigger, and finally i heard some sirens. then the funniest thing happened, the black smoke turned white--just like that. i think firefighters use magic, not water like in the good ol' days.