Go Play in the Street with Gasoline and Matches, Chief

When I was a kid, banging around the house with five brothers and two sisters, at times I complained of boredom, even in the middle of summer.  These complaints of boredom seemed to be pronounced when my parents had friends over, and, when these constant complaints of boredom got to be to much to bear, my Dad would often state, “If you’re so bored, go play in the street with gasoline and matches.”

I mention the above childhood story in rebuttal to fire chief David R. Peterson’s opinion, regarding The Grand Rapids Press’ opinion, that the City of Grand Rapids went too far when they would not allow the Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey Circus to perform one of their cooler circus tricks, Bailey’s Comet. A story I mentioned here.

You see, the chief seems to feel that every kid who goes to the circus and observes someone fired out of a cannon aflame, or observes an individual firing up a barbecue, is going to automatically attempt the same trick, or barbecue fire up, with tragic results.  The chief, in his rebuttal opinion, cites all sorts of tragic statistics, which, I admit, are tragic, but the chief fails to understand that the real lessons about fire safety don’t start with the fire chief, or the fire department, or the city council, or any other arm of the State.  The real lessons about fire safety start within the home, when parents take the time to teach their kids themselves, rather than conceding this task to some government funded flunky with a silver badge on his chest.

Fire can be dangerous, no doubt, but, if more individuals would teach their children respect for fire, rather than fear of fire, quite possibly the chief wouldn’t have to cite all his tragic statistics, and circus acts could continue for what they are.  Circus acts. 

Posted by on 10/17 at 04:27 PM

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