Michael: Burn Baby Burn

The ugliest bug,
Diablo de Tierra,
Ate through our mint’s roots.


Tuesday, July 14, 2015

Here in Volcan it’s very common to burn trash, but I haven’t started a fire for as long as I can remember.

Being a vegetarian, I never saw the point in owning a barbecue. When I camp, I either don’t cook or use a small stove. I’m sure as a child or a teenager I sat around a large bonfire and roasted marshmallows, but I don’t recall the experience.

I know, just like many boys, I went through a pyro stage. But the only evidence of that, that I can recall is an image of a very cheap griddle top on my family’s stove that I warped by leaving it on. It made this rust - orange - deep blue large oval discoloration that was really quite beautiful. My mom wasn’t pleased, but it may have sparked my later interest in abstract and process art.

But over the years I’ve lost touch with that inner demon that enjoys starting fires and watching things burn. I did set aside paper and cartons from the store, but until yesterday, I handed them off to our landlord next door and she burned it with her trash.

The thought of continually handing over my combustables to a woman though felt somewhat emasculating. I thought about googling how to burn trash, but decided why not just go for it? I mean there wasn’t much to it when I was a kid I presume. Just set the stuff in a pile and spark er up.
My only worry was that I was going to get a shoddy burn and I’d end up trying to quickly dump a bunch of paper in the trash so no one would notice how incompetent I was.

But the small stack I gathered burned for a good 45 minutes and took everything with it except a fragment of a raisin box top. It was also enjoyable to watch; the orange flame, the smoke, the transformation of paper into ash… I don’t feel it’s rekindled any lurid unconscious passion for setting things ablaze, but I’m sure I won’t hesitate the next time the trash needs to be burned.