I remember one time Pete was starting one of those table top hibachi’s with a Bic lighter, after the hibachi started he left the lighter on the table under the hibachi ( how hot can it get?) — went inside and came back out only to find a couple of small fragments of the Bic laying on the ground — kind of glad that we missed it. But it probably was pretty cool.
I do remember one time when we were “camping” down by the lake and had
buried potatoes in the coal overnight. Dug them out with a stick and
noticed that the coals were still a little warm, so thought it would be
a good idea to get the fire going again. Pete grabbed
the gas can from by the boat and thought it would be a good idea to
slosh some gas on it because the fire wasn’t starting…
Works fine on the forward swing because the gas fills the nozzle…
unfortunately, as the can goes back, the nozzle sucks in air, and the
flame that is traveling up the stream. Makes a very interesting
bang… Doesn’t do the gas can any good at all though.
Then there was the time out back in the alley at Roseland. Dad had been sanding something, so we had a big bag of nice fine sawdust. Thought it would be fun to toss it on the fire in the garbage can… Very impressive.
I remember a time my older brother, Pete, and I had to rake up the leaves in the back yard before my dad got home from work. Well, we made this huge pile, and decided burning them would be fun. Any 50’s era Vrtis male will tell you a good fire starts with gasoline. But, we were smart, we lightly doused the leaves with gas, then poured a line away from the leaves. To light it from about 10 feet away. It took us a few minutes to find the matches, which allowed the gasoline to begin to evaporate. When we lit our “fuse”, the fire ran right to the leaves like we figured, but the fumes in the air created a mini explosion. After we picked ourselves up off the lawn, and my mom was done yellin at us, we proceeded to rerake the leaves into a nice pile before my dad got home, as originally tasked to do.
I distinctly remember my dad having to hold his sides while laughing when the story came out at the dinner table.
The moral of this story,,,,never listen to your big brother.