Playing with Fire
When I was about sixteen, I nearly had a very bad experience with fire. My father had asked me to burn some rubbish in our backyard. As a boy scout, I was pretty good at lighting fires and I soon had one going. But although it was quite hot and the rubbish was burning, there were no flames. To my mind, a fire without flames was no fire at all, so I went to the shed and brought out the plastic jerry can we used to fuel the lawnmower. I fastened the spout on and tipped the jerry can over the fire. A huge wall of flame shot up past my face, burning off my eyebrows. Fortunately, I was wearing a leather hat, so my hair did not catch fire. Naturally, I stopped pouring gas, but when I looked down, the nozzle of the jerry can was on fire. I thought of dropping it and running, but I was afraid there would be an explosion, so I stood there and blew the flame out. Anyway, I learned the hard way never to pour gasoline on an active fire. (188)