Tami Teeters saved three things before her Mannford home was engulfed by a wildfire in August of last year: a pair of praying hands, her citizenship papers, and her bathing suit. She teaches water aerobics to senior citizens to help stave off pains of aging. She’s since rebuilt her home and taken up belly dancing. Death doesn’t become her. “If I go down, I’m gonna go down kicking and screaming,” the 73-year-old said.

Originally published in This Land, Vol. 4 Issue 23. Dec. 1, 2013.