The Firestarter |
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Well, it is time to tell another
story about myself and my good friend and fishing partner Dave on one of our
trips to the banks of the Ohio River in search of the big cats… |
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It was in October of 1990, and
we had been fishing five nights a week on the Ohio for flatheads. The night
before we had both made comments about how cold it was getting, and how maybe
it was time to start stocking “our” area for a big nighttime fire. So, we spent the next couple of days
stocking wood for the next night that we would go out fishing. We tried to hide the wood where we were
sure that nobody would find it and use it.
However... |
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We went there that next night
to fish, and set everything up...tackle, rod holders, lamps, chairs, coolers,
everything we had brought with us for a night of fishing. Then, we went to get the wood...but, as
you can probably guess by now, it was gone.
Frustrated, we searched for some more, but we had pretty much cleared
the area of all burnable wood on our visits before. |
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That was when I thought about a
box of old scrap wood, left over from different projects, that I had back in
the garage. Now, at that time, I
lived less than ten minutes away from our “cat” spot, and it really wasn’t
any trouble for me to run back to the garage and get it. So, with that idea fresh in my mind, I
told Dave I would be right back, and I would go get the box along with some
logs I had stockpiled for the winter.
Now, this was a box that a 27” television set had come packaged in, so
that ought to give you a good idea of how large that box was and how much
wood it would hold. |
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While I was at the garage, I
noticed an old can of Coleman lantern fuel sitting on a shelf, so I tossed it
in with the box of scraps and about seven logs. On my way back to the river, with a fresh load of wood, logs,
and fuel, the thoughts of a nice warm fire to fish by all night seemed to be
the only way to do things! And so,
thirty minutes later, I am standing over this 27” television box that was
packed with sawdust, 2X4’s, furring strips, a few 12” pieces of 4X4’s, some
old papers, and it was all topped off with a healthy dose of Coleman fuel
covering everything. |
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As I’m sure you know, a windy
night and matches do not go together.
After I ran through the entire pack of matches, Dave (who, by the way,
had been laughing at me this whole time) stands up and announces that he will
light the fire with his trusty Bic lighter. |
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Well a lighter on a windy
night is not the easiest thing to use either. After a few tries (and failures), he has a bright idea, so he
puts his arm down in the box about 8 inches…flick...flick... |
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So after the flash and smoke
clear, I helped Dave up out of the water and got a good look at the
damages. The soot covered his face
like a raccoon mask. At that time he
had long hair...well, that was burned off all around his face, and his
eyebrows and mustache were both missing in action… |
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After I asked him if he was
okay, I brushed him off and guided him over to a nearby stump to sit
down. He was quiet for a second, and
then he said, “Okay…will I ever be able to see again?” Then he started to chuckle a little bit,
and that was all it took for me to bust out laughing…I think he was a little
upset because I laughed SO much. But
at least I DID ask if he was okay BEFORE I laughed! |
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In time, his facial hair grew
in again, and all was back to normal.
But, to this day, he won’t start a fire! |
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And the moral of this story is...well, you can figure it out… |
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Next time, I’ll tell you about the Belmont County, Ohio shooter that
Dave took out with a tacklebox! |
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Hope to see you out there…. |
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gunner |
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