Fire makes the Difference
The other day on my way home I decided I would walk up to the of the mountain nearby. I got to the foot of the mountain about an hour and a half after dark. There was about 5 inches of snow on the ground, which was the main reason I wanted to go up the mountain. Even though I only had tennis shoes on I felt I‘d be fine. It takes about a half an hour, walking fast, to make it to the top. It was an incredible walk which left me feeling incredibly great.
When I got back to the car, I started going through my pockets looking for my keys. After about the 4th search I started accepting the fact I did not have them on me. My fear was that I had some how lost them in the snow. I didn’t have a light, which made looking for them hopeless. All had on me was a cell phone, a lighter, and a pair of gloves. The closest cell signal was on top of the mountain a half an hour away. I walked around the car thinking there must be something I can do. Then berating myself for thinking I can get into this car I have hoped is safe when I lock it to keep people out. And here in the middle of the woods, with no tools, and no light, I thought maybe I should just bite the bullet and break the glass. That or walk a half an hour in the other direction, in hopes of finding the tool’s I need to get in at someone’s home. Than I would walk around the car again hoping some miracle would happen to let me get in the car without breaking something. Every now and than I would take a stick I broke in hopes of using it as a tool, and try to pry the window open. Than I would berate myself again for postponing the inevitable and go for help on foot. Something inside just wouldn’t let me accept the impossibility of the situation.
Finally I go to the back window, on the passenger side, so if it breaks it will be easier to deal with. I take a stick that I broke so it was somewhat wedge shaped, so I can force it between the glass and frame. Once I got an opening I was able to get a space about an inch and a quarter by increasing the size of the sticks little by little. I was afraid that if I forced the glass any more it would break. I figured with the right stick I was in. I searched the nearby saplings in seach of a branch the right design. Once I found that, I reached in and tried to feel my way to the lock with the end of the branch. When that failed, I tried to see using my lighter but was able to light the area I need to see. I tried to hit the switch to the dome light, but again, in the dark I just couldn’t find it. This close and with no light was going to be foiled.
No problem. I decided to take a few sticks and hook them over the windshield wipers. This way when I pile the snow on the hood it won’t slide off. Then I collect some small sticks and start a fire on the snow. Within minutes the interior of the car is brightly lit, and I pop the lock, throw the fire off the hood, and off I go. What I find most amazing is that for the second time it was fire that made the difference between success and failure.
