I am very paranoid of fire hazards and have been for some time. I don’t know if I ever really connected it to something that happened in high school but here’s the story.
I was a young high schooler laying in bed, reading. Before you think I was a scholar student, I should tell you I was reading because school was about to start and I had done zilch, diddly squat, nothing on my summer reading list. There I was, cramming for whatever test or quiz would undoubtedly happen to challenge my knowledge of the story in the books. The only thing is, I fell asleep.
Are you done thinking I was a straight A student now?
Lo and behold, I was awakened not by an alarm, but by flames nearly touching my head! If you want the rest of the story, check out this post that gives you a play by play: The one where I almost burned a house down.
As a 43-year-old, I’m almost always cautious around flames and things that could catch fire. I prefer taking extra, extra, extra precaution. It’s not just that, though. Anxiety goes up, all kinds of thoughts fill my head, and my nerves are on edge. I’m not saying this is all because of that one experience I had, but the flaming mattress has definitely helped shape my outlook on fire hazards and my reaction to what’s possible.
At the very least, I can appreciate what was learned from that random day in the 90s, and the lesson is this: It’s good to be aware (and cautious) when something like a fire is possible or even likely. But also, don’t try to cram a summer’s worth of work into a day or two! It’s a recipe for bad things.
Thanks for dropping in…
-Out of the Wilderness
Out of the Wilderness 