Our first attempt to light the bonfire failed. My two friends, one a New York Columbia female alumna and the other a UCONN Husky alumni depended on the stereotype that all Michiganders knew how to make fire. My first question was, "Do you have lighter fluid?" Laughing and remembering the last time I watched my Michigan friend create fire of the beaches of Lake Michigan, I knew three things.
1. You need dry wood and scrapping under the wood.
2. You need to stack the wood in a cool formation.
3. You need some kind of catalyst to spread what is started (lighter fluid, air, or actual fire).
I created this log fort with a ripped Trader Joe's bag underneath, took my lighter and lit the area under the wood. After another failed attempt to get the wood to light and an dwindling resource of paper bags, I tried lighting three areas, added a touch of my exhaled air, and wa-la we had a fire!
The evening was spent chatting about where we've been, who we are, and what our dreams are. All three of us dove into the past, present, and future of falling in love stories. After refills of Merlot and burnt marshmallows on skewers, we realized one thing - we are three completely different co-workers - Jewish, Christian, and "Anglo-Saxton," covering all three parts of the political spectrum, and working hard in the same profession - but we are all battling what society tells us should be the next part of our story.
Maybe there is a specific way to make a fire, maybe with all the right materials that fire just still won't start, and maybe I'm lighting the wrong fire. Alot of where my heart is right now lies in the uncertainty of what materials I need, what process I am going to try, and where I am going to light that fire.
Signing out from the airport in Phoenix, getting ready to take off into my comfortable mitten, I am looking forward to fireside conversations with my friends and family. I am praying for depth and honesty as I get to embrace the stories of people who know me so well and love others so incredibly.
1. You need dry wood and scrapping under the wood.
2. You need to stack the wood in a cool formation.
3. You need some kind of catalyst to spread what is started (lighter fluid, air, or actual fire).
I created this log fort with a ripped Trader Joe's bag underneath, took my lighter and lit the area under the wood. After another failed attempt to get the wood to light and an dwindling resource of paper bags, I tried lighting three areas, added a touch of my exhaled air, and wa-la we had a fire!
The evening was spent chatting about where we've been, who we are, and what our dreams are. All three of us dove into the past, present, and future of falling in love stories. After refills of Merlot and burnt marshmallows on skewers, we realized one thing - we are three completely different co-workers - Jewish, Christian, and "Anglo-Saxton," covering all three parts of the political spectrum, and working hard in the same profession - but we are all battling what society tells us should be the next part of our story.
Maybe there is a specific way to make a fire, maybe with all the right materials that fire just still won't start, and maybe I'm lighting the wrong fire. Alot of where my heart is right now lies in the uncertainty of what materials I need, what process I am going to try, and where I am going to light that fire.
Signing out from the airport in Phoenix, getting ready to take off into my comfortable mitten, I am looking forward to fireside conversations with my friends and family. I am praying for depth and honesty as I get to embrace the stories of people who know me so well and love others so incredibly.
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