Wednesday, January 04, 2006

Small Towns and Quasi-Terminal Diseases

Well I'm finally seem to be overcoming this cold that has made the last five days an agonizing blur. Being sick isn't very fun. Definitely the worst combination of ailments is a cold with sleep depravation and insomnia.

Last week, before the being bed ridden thing, I had the pleasure of having a small bonfire with my friends. Take it from me, there is no better way to enjoy living in the middle of a national forest than burning a small part of it. It really was a small fire, only 10-12 foot flames. As far as bonfires out in the woods go, that's pretty tame. Every time it would start to die down my old Mustang's Golf teammate Joe Costello would disappear into the woods with his dually truck and come back dragging another dead pine tree. I think we ended up burning 3-4 dead pine trees. That actually is good for the forest, because dead underbrush and such can cause really serious forest fires. Mostly I got to catch up with one of my best buddies from high school, Nathaniel Lail, who is now going to the Air Force Academy in Colorado.

It was an educational experience in the fact I learned a Sobe bottle once drained of its nourishing energy drink can be filled with gasoline and placed in side the bonfire with the cap on tight. As the gasoline begins to boil the pressure inside the bottle begins to sharply increase until the cap pops off. Subsequently the gasoline is propelled 20-30 feet straight into the air, which is ignited by the surrounding fire, creating a pillar of fire similar to the one mentioned in the Old Testament. Imagine if you will something to the effect of a large clearing in the woods. Picture the soft glow of the fire surrounded by complete darkness. Then for one glorious instant the entire clearing is illuminated by a towering burst of flame. That's what we do in small towns to entertain ourselves.

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