FIRESIDE CHAT!

   TUESDAY, MAY 26TH., 2020
             FIRESIDE CHAT!

    I have spent the past two evenings
sitting around a campfire with members
of my family. It's a tradition for us
stemming from the days when we had
a small travel trailer and drove all over
the east coast on vacations. My Dad was
with us most of the time and while we
all enjoyed the evening campfire he and
my wife probably would have stayed
around it all night if they had their
choice. Camping and campfires bring
families together. There's plenty of
talk, mostly old family stories, and
sometimes a song or two to blend
with the smoke filling the night air.
     Ironically, however, my most
memorable campfire  was during a
Columbus Day holiday many years
ago when my best friend and I were
camped in woods near my uncle's
cabin. My friend was proud of his
fire building skill and his blaze was
rather large when a car stopped on a
nearby dirt road . We began to extinguish
the fire and it drove away. A short time
later we headed for that same dirt road to
get back to my uncle's place. After a
very short distance we realized two men
were right behind us and one of than
put a pipe up to my head. Except it
wasn't a pipe. It was a pistol. Seems
two boys had escaped from the nearby
Kis Lyn Reformatory and they figured
we were them! I believe that's the night
I learned how to ad lib! I explained that
we too had seem the fire and were
looking for whoever started it! We spent
the next half hour helping the guys
search.
    Some memories like fires, are
best extinguished. But I can't put that
one out.
    At least it's a story for another
campfire! Hope you're well and
that all your NEWS is good!