the year was 1982. i was leaving second grade and entering third. it was quite a time. sniffing glue, eating paste, starting fires.

i used to hang out with this kid, greg (the link is worth following). his dad was a fire chief and we used to go into the woods and start fires. even at eight-years-old, the irony didn't escape me, i just didn't know the word 'irony' at such a young age. just small fires, nothing big. sticks, grass. once we tried to light a tire on fire. it didn't work. we hadn't been turned on to the joy of propellants yet. we'd go to fire safety nights and watch specials starring dick van dyke who would tell us to stop, drop and roll. we knew a lot about fire and did everything in our power to get away and to go into the woods and get a small blaze going. i'd forgotten about all of that until now, though dick van dyke's message stayed with me.

only in researching this post did i realize that they added a step. now you're supposed to cover your face before rolling. sigh. i feel like that is maybe a slight diss to dick's short and to-the-point message. that's why this holiday is so important — it reminds us of a simpler time when there were three steps to remember instead of four.

thank you dick. you are not forgotten. i don't know where you are, but know that if my clothes are ever on fire, i won't be covering my face before rolling. and i'll be thinking of you.

And so we meet
    and there is no question
  this blazing fire lit within

And so we
Stop

Stop the chatter
   the feigned interest
     the not-so-witty repartee

And we
Drop

Drop into bed
   into casual discovery
     into mutual exhaustion

And we've no choice but to
Roll

Roll away from each other
   away from emotion
     away from eye contact

This fire is doused
    drenched and gone
Lessons learned when young
Serve us today
   We stop, drop, and roll.