Weiner Roast at the Johnsons

For years Glen has been telling me that I should burn the small twigs and branches that fall on the property – in a nice place where we could roast wieners on the coals from such a fire.

After being at the Bates’ House and watching them execute dinner over the open coals I came home and raked around the west side of my porch, thinking all of the time about how easy it would be, since we would be close to the fridge, close to water for clean up and close to the band aids should be need some.

The case of Cadbury chocolate bars that I was going to use for the chocolate in the Some-More’s kept disappearing to work in Bonnie Wyora's lunch bag.

So I bought a second case.

Building a fire is not a previous skill and attempt to get a fire going took five hours from start to finish – but there was a wiener roast in between and we sat around the fire telling stories of our lives until the last embers had burned out.

As we talked until late into the evening, I remembered again how much fun passing the stick around can be– the stick that is partially burned on one end from so many pokes in the fire.

The stick is long enough to turn over the logs and to dig at the glowing coals as the sky gets darker and the stars come out.

Hebe wanted to roast a wiener.

Then she gave it to someone else to eat for she prefers hers raw, as does Michael Johnson, who is too young to sit in a chair yet, so spent his time in his mother’s arms at the campfire.

Miranda has an engineering degree which she puts to practical use on vacation.

She is the one I go to when I need help chopping kindling for the fire, or help changing the doorknob on the front door, or help building a rack in the garage onto which I can hand life jackets.

She I tell her she is the son-in-law I always wanted.

... Eric, poking the embers ...

Bonnie and I decided that Eric Jarvis didn't get to Scout Camp often enough, for he is still dangerous when he has a chance to settle the fire down with a stick. He could use another holiday at our house and some more practise on that task.

... a  perfectly execute roasted marshmallow ...

This year Catie Jarvis and Ceiligh Johnson carried a cooler of pop down to the fire.

Dr. Catherine told us that the newest research is that children should only have one can of pop a week (maximum, and although none is better), until they are 20 years old. We didn’t keep that rule very well.

Catie and Ceiligh also took the food down to the tables, arranged chairs around the fire pit and made sure everyone knew when the coals had burned low enough that a perfect roasted wiener could be created.

Having a place to hang out at night around a fire is everything I dreamed of ... and more. 

Arta