Boil

The fire continues to burn.  The fire and the smoke result from a neighbor's decision to burn rather than grind out a tree stump in his front yard. During the evenings his friends and family circle the flame with lawn chairs and eat dinner. "You can boil an egg on this fire," says the flame manager (hired by the neighbor) to me. "Put the raw egg on the fire and it cooks." This he learns from the neighbor's wife who stops by to prepare meals. (She no longer lives in the home.) This new presence charms me for a few days. Then I tire of the smoke and wonder about the safety of this burn. The land is short on rain and these houses are made of sticks. My query about the fire sends a red truck with sirens on down this small street. A conversation between a fireman, the flame manager, and the neighbor extinguishes the burn. Now the neighbor sits outside watering the young sod covering the fire pit. Three to four times a day, he says, the new grass requires moisture. "Someone called the fire department," he tells me. "They wouldn't say who, but I know. A six-year-old who loves fire trucks always loves them." My poker face stays put until I go inside.