Leona lives in Wayne County, in western New York state, on the shores of Lake Ontario. This night she’s preparing supper for her husband. Macaroni and cheese with sausage, topped with mustard sauce. Yummy!

While she’s fixing supper, her husband is in his recliner in another room watching television. Up to this point it sounds like the average American household.

Leona is stirring the tomato sauce with a spoon when the spoon slips out of her hand and falls to the floor. "That’ll make a mess," she mutters, bending down to pick up the spoon.

VAROOM! There’s a huge explosion. The kind of explosion you usually see only in a Bruce Willis movie—but this blast is no special effect—it’s real.

Several minutes later you can hear the distant sound of sirens, but there’s no movement at the house which is now reduced to a pile of rubble.

After a few minutes there’s movement under all the sticks and bricks. A bony arm slowly climbs out from the rubble. Leona, who is 73 years old, pushes her way up on hands and knees through the debris. Looking around she must be wondering: "Am I in Heaven, or what is this place?"

With a struggle she gets to her feet. Now she’s worried about George. Is he dead, buried under the wrecked house? Leona sees an arm sticking up. It’s George trying to dig his way out.

About this time police, fire and rescue crews arrive and help the old couple to the back of an ambulance. No broken bones. No serious cuts. Only a few minor scrapes and bruises.

Hours later, the fire chief explains that it was a gas explosion that originated in the kitchen. Reporters ask the obvious question: "If the explosion started in the kitchen, how come Leona is still alive?"

"That’s the miracle part," says the chief. "She bent down to pick up a spoon she’d dropped at the exact moment of the explosion. The sink and the countertop shielded her from the main force of the blast."