Still Figurin' Out Who I Think I Am

This one's about fire, heaven, and seventeen.

30DBC PROMPT: "Good morning Campers! Lyn's a Witchy Woman and I are easing you into this wilderness experience so far, and we're gonna have a campfire tonight to get you closer to your fellow campers. So while we're sittin' around the fire, tell us a story you'd tell around a fire. The first comment you make (on your fellow campers' blogs) equals a toasted marshmallow...and who doesn't love that? Did someone say 'S'mores'?"

'Sup y'all? That's a fine set of prompts we're lookin' at today (and I'm not just sayin' that because one of 'em is mine )...let's get this weekend thing started!

My campfire story isn't a typical ghost story or something born out of lore handed down through generations. Nope...this is an actual story about a campfire.

One February, maybe when I was 12 or 13, my boy scout troop went away for the weekend. I had boots that I was just starting to outgrow, to the point I could barely lace them up. On Saturday night, as we often did, we had a robust fire and we performed skits and songs for our entertainment while keeping warm...because February in WNY always includes way more snow than necessary.

In the interest of keeping my uncomfortable feet warm, I put them up on a stump close to our fire. I wasn't paying close attention though...I thought everything was fine until I smelled the stank of burning rubber. I looked down, and the sole of my right boot was engulfed in flames (the left one just started melting). I stomped it out (thank you, snow), but the damage was done...it had melted pretty good. Totally disfigured the whole bottom of the thing.

The next morning, after breaking camp and packing up, we did what our troop loved to do most...play football. Mind you, it was February, and like I said, there was a lot of snow on the ground. I couldn't tie my boots; that's how bad they were damaged. We must've been runnin' around in twenty degree weather for three hours. I ignored the tingling in my feet, the numbness, everything...I was determined to tough it out.

Which was stupid...I'll say it so you don't have to. Toward the end of our game, my feet basically wanted to annex themselves from my body. They'd been stepped on, abused, and were now beyond numb...a feat that equals unbelievable pain.

Nothing helped, and by the time I got home I had to go to the emergency room. I had blood pooling under my toenails...it was kinda cool when the doctor punctured one of 'em and the blood squirted up like a fountain. But it was such a relief! I had a very minor case of frostbite...and if what I had was minor, I'd hate to see major! All in all, I wound up losing six toenails...on both big and second toes, plus both pinky toes. They grew back eventually, but damn was that awkward for awhile.

Luckily it's summertime and we don't have to worry too much about shoving our feet in the fire to stay warm. And y'all can have the marshmallows...I'm not crazy about s'mores, but here are some tasty recipes   y'all can try the next time you're out by a fire.

BCF PROMPT: "What would heaven be like for you?"

Awww, y'all know I'm not religious! All this means to me is that I've died and didn't have enough fun! Because we all know you've got to be good to get to heaven, and all the really fun stuff usually diverts you further south of the pearly gates. Guess I won't have to worry if my boots fit when I stick 'em in that fire.

But heaven can be a place on Earth  , so I'll take a stab at a few of the things I need to feel heavenly...

A clean, comfortable bed with lots of good, uninterrupted sleep.
Reese's peanut butter cups (seasonal treats, preferably).
All my music, all the time.
Meat, and lots of it. Very well done...I don't want to see a hint of suffering.
Y'all gettin' along like brothers and sisters of Mother Earth.

Doesn't take much, yet it seems like a tall order. Maybe there's a reason it's "heaven" and we're not living in it (and don't get all JC on me, because that isn't an ideal look right about now).

MUSICAL BREAK!!

I don't normally rep this Buffalo band because they got too huge for the city, but Robbie Takac has done a lot of giving back over the years. Plus, I prefer their older, less-mainstream stuff. I have this song on a Kazaa mix I made back when it was ok to steal music off the internet, and it might be my favorite Goo Goo Dolls song. Most of y'all who are familiar with them know that Johnny Rzeznik sings, but Robbie takes this and it's awesome. Makes me proud to be from where I'm from.

"But was it you...told me I'm your everything you...
hit me like I never felt before."
Lyrics.  

Never really looked at the lyrics to that song before...man, have I been getting them wrong for years! "Silly for the last time..."

THE DAILY BOX SCORE:

"In the Bonus Tracks, over at WDC Soundtrackers' "Barrel of Monkeys"  we were given a wildcard that we could only find songs that began with 'When'. I was listening to Frank Sinatra's "When I Was 17"   and I thought, why not ask everyone ...Was it a very good year when you turned 17? Tell us about things that happened in that year."

Y'all are tryin' to kill me with these prompts. Or get me killed.

[FYI Lyn's a Witchy Woman , your link took me to Julio Iglesias' "When I Need You".]

Seventeen was supposed to be a really good year. The high school senior, the outcast, making friends with people I'd never see again because it was our last year together. Yeah, that didn't go well.

My mom was in the throes of a relationship with a guy who, well, lets just say we didn't see eye-to-eye. I re-broke my shoulder in football practice, putting my arm back into an immobilizer. On MLK Day, my doctor finally cleared me for contact with the wrestling team, but my mother wouldn't sign the paperwork. So I went and got shitfaced to the point of alcohol poisoning. No details necessary...it just wasn't fun at all. It got me kicked off the yearbook committee, and to this day I can't touch or even smell anything with Bailey's Irish Creme in it (working against my favor was drinking with the girls in charge of the yearbook, and it was their parents' booze we copped).

I had an internship with a local, community-driven newspaper...that I had to find my own way to and from most of the time. I wanted to be a journalist, and that was my ground floor opening. I wrote nuptials and covered my school's baseball and softball teams. There was no push to get me into college. There was...nothing. The day before I graduated I cemented my boltage from my mom's to my dad's, but she knew it was coming (most of my room was packed up in garbage bags anyway and by then I was convinced I was moving).

No, 17 was not the ideal year. Not by a long shot. Did some of you have it worse? I'm sure. But don't front on me because terrible is terrible, period...whatever the circumstances are.

Awhile back (waaaaay back) I mentioned something about making a video of what life here in Cortland- my life- is like. Well, I came across a cheap little camcorder, and I took some footage. Gotta edit it and figure it all out....the sound isn't transferring and I get a black screen when trying to view the clips. But dammit, I'mma do it. Somehow.

Alright, I've taken up enough of your time today. It's a summer Saturday anyway, which means y'all had some better things to do (or still do). This isn't blogging season, regardless. Peace, dealing with your own, and GOODNIGHT NOW!!