 |
| Funny - Funny |
We had a SMOKING Thanksgiving.
Thanksgiving Day, Carol’s family was to arrive around 5:30 for turkey, ham, and all the trimmings.
A bit after lunch that day I decided to lay a fire in the fireplace. I started out by wadding up several sheets of our Local Astonisher, went outside and collected a bag full of dried pinecones and dumped them on the crumpled newspaper. On top of that, I placed a few sticks of dried pine, followed by three split logs of dead dry pine.
Hot dog - Good job I thought - Ready to go for when the time came to start the warmth and add to a pleasant atmosphere.
I left the damper closed so the heat would not go up the chimney until the time to strike the match.
I was in town to pick up a few items, about a half hour before the expected crowd was to arrive.
Still 20 minutes away, Carol called. “Help!!! The fire is shooting out of the fireplace!!! It is hot!!! Smoke is thick!!! The alarm is going off!!!”
“Open the damper!” I suggested hoping to calm her a bit.
“Too hot! - I thought you had it open - Too much smoke!”
“Dump some water on it,” I advised as I stepped on the gas breaking the 55 mile an hour law.
About that time Carol’s brother and his wife arrived. She heard the car come and rushed to meet them.
“HELP,” she yelled out the door. Please hurry! Help!” The smoke billowed out the open door to greet them.
Carol ran to the kitchen and got a bucket of water. Bent down, her brother tried to fight the heat and smoke in front of the belching inferno. He frantically reached for the damper. No luck.
Whoosh - was the answer to the slosh of water as everyone hacked, coughed, and gagged. The steam of the sizzling water, added to the smoke, turning all into a large smoke pit. The three persons in the room found out quickly that perfume and shaving lotion are no match for some good-old-fashioned smelling country smoke.
Now Carol’s sister arrived. Before she walked into the house, her brother said to his wife and Carol, “Lets just act like nothing is wrong.” They cackled and agreed.
“Hi Donna! Good to see you!” She coughed, rubbed her nose, her hair blowing from the ceiling fan at high speed.
“You all alright?” she asked with head cocked to one side.
“Sure. Dinner is about ready.”
Her son arrived. The front door wide open. He walked up and thought we added a new screen door. The smoke was so thick he could not see into the room.
When I got there all the windows and doors were open. The ceiling fans roared, the smoke detector dangled from the ceiling and also gasped for a reprieve.
Dinner was great. Even the turkey tasted smoked. We all laughed, chucked and giggled over the frantic actions of a bunch of grown-ups.
Two days later, the curtains and cushions of the entire house still smell like smoke.
It too shall pass. Thank you Lord for all the blessings.
