Fire

Tonight I finally had a break from work. I did something I have not done for a very long time. I made a fire and sat by it all by myself for a few hours. I have loved real wood fires all my life. They do something for my soul that nothing else can do. Nothing else can make me relax in quite the same way.

When I was very young my family used to go on weekend camping trips. It was the only thing resembling a vacation we did until I was in high school. I remember my father teaching me about fire one night sitting by the campfire. He said that one piece of wood by itself would not stay burning. But two pieces of wood would burn well and make tall flames. So you would always keep several pieces of wood together on a fire. The gap between the closely placed pieces would draw air through and make the perfect conditions for combustion that just cannot happen around a single piece. And the conversation and stories and laughter would go on into the night with all eyes staring at the beauty of the constantly changing sculpture of the wood and the ballet of the flames dancing around and above it.

Often when everyone has grown tired, had enough and gone on to bed and the fire is left untended, there will be one log left only partially burned after the rest are reduced to dying embers. It eventually cools and is an ugly left over. Not a very desirable thing to have around. And it still may be quite heavy and it's difficult to get rid of. There are still a lot of btu's of energy locked up inside it. But it certainly isn't attractive or something pleasant to have in sight like a woodpile from a freshly cut up tree. The textured bark and beautiful grain of the wood are replaced by an uncleanable surface of dirty black charcoal, soot, and messy ash. The log has known the fire and will never be the same. Once loved and admired as it provided warmth and a beautiful orange glowing light show, it lays there cold, filthy, despised, ignored, forgotten.

But those unused btu's have value. And they sit there unconsumed. That is the good thing. The other logs are gone, but this one waits, it's heart still dense with fuel. One day when the conditions are right, it may be nestled against some other logs. A new fire may grow up around it and it may contribute what it has to offer to the new combustion. Once again it will glow with the beautiful aura of a wood fire, and with it's fellows send tongues of flame and sparks dancing into the night sky to the delight of those gathered around it. The children will roast their hot dogs and marshmallows and as the logs reduce to glowing coals the adults will converse late into the night, all eyes mesmerized by the constantly changing beauty of the fire. Maybe this time the last logs to be put on will burn down at the same time and in the morning there will be nothing left but ash and a few smoldering embers. And the scent of smoke giving wistful reminders of the joy and warmth, beauty and peace experienced around that campfire the night before. Good things for a piece of wood to be consumed by.