Wednesday, April 28, 2010

Fire!

I remember that my father was a volunteer fireman when I was very young. Firemen fight house fires, fires in all kinds of buildings, and sometimes wildfires. Wildfires are outside, either a grass fire or forest fire that's out of control. I have never seen a fire up close. I can't imagine having to go into a burning building to save someone. Many firemen have been injured or lost their lives doing just such a brave act.
An expression you might here is the saying someone is "all fired up" to do something. It means they have gotten themselves highly excited to do whatever it is.
If you have been sentenced to death for crimes you have committed, in some states you can choose to die by firing squad. A small group of people line up with rifles and then shoot you. The last thing you hear is "Fire!"
Then, of course, there is the dreaded getting fired. Generally, nobody likes getting fired. Through my high school and college years I worked 14 or 15 different jobs, but I was only fired from one. The manager that fired me hired me back a few days later.
Tomorrow in Connecticut there will be a Fire Warning in a large part of the state because it is very dry. A fire warning is issued to warn people to be careful with matches, cigarettes, or anything else that can start a fire.
And as a final word on fire, there is the well known (at least in American culture) childhood insult, "Liar, liar, pants on fire!" And on that note, Goodnight One and All...

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