The Flame Within
Memories of fire and love.20 total reviews
Comment from Jesse James Doty
This brought tears to my eyes as I read about you and your family sitting by the fireside with your father playing harmonica and your mother singing... This is much like my father when we went camping but I don't remember my mother singing along. She was busy cleaning up after us instead! She loved to sing but whenever we went camping we left nearly all the chores to my mother to do. How I wished we had asked her to sing like she loved to do instead of relegating her to cleaning the dishes and all the other upkeep that we were for some reason unable to do for ourselves. Your meaningful story brought back these memories for me. See what reading other's family life can do?
I know the theme was fire and you did a splendid job of keeping to that theme.
I hope you don't mind my reminiscing over my days a long time ago. Campfires can bring families together and I wished my family knew that.
Thanks for the memories!
Jesse
reply by the author on 11-Apr-2022
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This brought tears to my eyes as I read about you and your family sitting by the fireside with your father playing harmonica and your mother singing... This is much like my father when we went camping but I don't remember my mother singing along. She was busy cleaning up after us instead! She loved to sing but whenever we went camping we left nearly all the chores to my mother to do. How I wished we had asked her to sing like she loved to do instead of relegating her to cleaning the dishes and all the other upkeep that we were for some reason unable to do for ourselves. Your meaningful story brought back these memories for me. See what reading other's family life can do?
I know the theme was fire and you did a splendid job of keeping to that theme.
I hope you don't mind my reminiscing over my days a long time ago. Campfires can bring families together and I wished my family knew that.
Thanks for the memories!
Jesse
Comment Written 11-Apr-2022
reply by the author on 11-Apr-2022
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Oh Jesse - I so appreciate your telling me how this story affected you, and sharing a glimpse into your own family camping experiences. Hindsight does indeed show us how our behaviour impacted other people. Maybe your mother relished her role of looking after you all and doing the chores - showing her love in that way. When we went camping it was holiday time for Mum too, so we all didn't mind getting scruffy and eating simple food (sausages on sticks). We got to hear Mum singing. We were all happy with those arrangements. Mum would spit on a handkerchief and polish our cheeks if we kids got too grubby.
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It is funny and strange how a piece can move someone reading it to tears and then read another's perspective of how it went down for them. I knew my mother well and, wished I had offered her a hand with the dishes. She felt alone with her chores, and unable to rise above them.
But thanks for comforting me.
Jesse
Comment from BethShelby
I enjoyed reading your memories centered around fire. I'm not a fire symbol. I'm a Virgo, but fire fascinated me to as a child and actually still does. I could sit for hours staring into the open flame of a wood burning fire. My dad smoked a pipe too. But I could think of nothing more horrible than my body burning. Of course if I was dead, I would know but I'll pass on the cremation.
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I enjoyed reading your memories centered around fire. I'm not a fire symbol. I'm a Virgo, but fire fascinated me to as a child and actually still does. I could sit for hours staring into the open flame of a wood burning fire. My dad smoked a pipe too. But I could think of nothing more horrible than my body burning. Of course if I was dead, I would know but I'll pass on the cremation.
Comment Written 11-Apr-2022
Comment from Richard Montfort Cary
A wonderful entry. Indeed, a winner, whether #1 or not. I particularly like "...a quicker way to get to Heaven.... although my green conscience will give a little twinge at being a pollutant...." Nice memory package!!
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A wonderful entry. Indeed, a winner, whether #1 or not. I particularly like "...a quicker way to get to Heaven.... although my green conscience will give a little twinge at being a pollutant...." Nice memory package!!
Comment Written 11-Apr-2022
Comment from nancy_e_davis
My brother was like that, Lisa. He was fascinated by fire. He set the curtains on fire in the bedroom and set a fire behind the garage. Thank God both times the fire was caught early and no damage except a burned curtain. Dad set fire to his behind and he never played with fire again. LOL Well done. Nancy:)
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My brother was like that, Lisa. He was fascinated by fire. He set the curtains on fire in the bedroom and set a fire behind the garage. Thank God both times the fire was caught early and no damage except a burned curtain. Dad set fire to his behind and he never played with fire again. LOL Well done. Nancy:)
Comment Written 11-Apr-2022
Comment from Mary Vigasin
A beautifully written story of family memories. How you brought those memories back to your dad who had Alzheimer's is loving and heartwarming.
I truly enjoyed reading your story and wish you well in the contest.
Best regards,
Mary
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A beautifully written story of family memories. How you brought those memories back to your dad who had Alzheimer's is loving and heartwarming.
I truly enjoyed reading your story and wish you well in the contest.
Best regards,
Mary
Comment Written 11-Apr-2022
Comment from Debbie Pope
I like how you bind your family together with their love of watching fires. I've actually been thinking about this very topic. All three of my children are in the process of buying fire pits, and all three are obsessed with their fireplaces. I mean, for them, building a fire is the most enjoyable thing they can think of. As for me, I have a beautiful fireplace that has never been used in thirty years. I started a grease fire as a teenager and am petrified of the quickness of the blaze. Maybe my caution has sent my children in the opposite direction. Do they feel closer to nature as they sit around a fire? Is this some sort of rebellion against me?
I think that you have chosen a telling topic. I was interested in your last line. I'm not sure that the mention of becoming a pollutant fits, even if spoken in jest. I've actually been thinking of cremation (my family says " with your love of fire?") because I hate the thought of polluting the earth with so many caskets.
Anyway, I enjoyed your family memories. Made me think about mine.
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I like how you bind your family together with their love of watching fires. I've actually been thinking about this very topic. All three of my children are in the process of buying fire pits, and all three are obsessed with their fireplaces. I mean, for them, building a fire is the most enjoyable thing they can think of. As for me, I have a beautiful fireplace that has never been used in thirty years. I started a grease fire as a teenager and am petrified of the quickness of the blaze. Maybe my caution has sent my children in the opposite direction. Do they feel closer to nature as they sit around a fire? Is this some sort of rebellion against me?
I think that you have chosen a telling topic. I was interested in your last line. I'm not sure that the mention of becoming a pollutant fits, even if spoken in jest. I've actually been thinking of cremation (my family says " with your love of fire?") because I hate the thought of polluting the earth with so many caskets.
Anyway, I enjoyed your family memories. Made me think about mine.
Comment Written 11-Apr-2022
Comment from Pantygynt
This reminded me of a song I used to sing:
Tim McGuire by Leon Rosselson
Little Tim MacGuire loved to play with fire
Always hated water, never used to wash
Loved the smell of burning, of bonfires burning
Loved to play all day with his little tinder box
He chased the sparks as they flew into the evening
Hailed the flash of lightning and the burning sun
When I'm a man then I'll become a fireman
Then I can light a fire for everyone
When he was four they dressed him in a uniform
Sent him to a school with iron railings all around
Hated the school and the rules and the railings
Took his little tinder box and burnt it to the ground
Oh how he laughed and danced in the firelight
Oh how he laughed as the flames leapt to the sky
When I'm a man I'm going to be a fireman
Keep a bonfire burning until the day I die
When MacGuire grew older they made him wear a bowler
Set him to work in an office in the town
Hated the pens and the pins and the papers
Had just one ambition, to burn the office down
Little Tim MacGuire loved to play with fire
Loved the blaze of roses and the golden grain
Loved the leaves of autumn, the red leaves of autumn
Loved a slender girl with a smile like a flame
The judge said at his trial, Your behaviour has been vile
You're a menace to society though you may think you're big
You have to go to prison - and then, what a commotion
For smoke and fire were pouring from the judge's wig
Oh how he laughed and danced in the courtroom
We took him down, we locked him in the darkness of the cell
Never saw the sun or heard the songbirds calling
Saw the prison bars and heard the prison bell
Then early one morning just as the day was dawning
A great wheel of fire spun skywards from the jail
The iron bars melted, the stone walls crumbled
No one in the prison lived to tell the tale
No one ever found Tim MacGuire's little tinder box
No one ever found a trace of Tim MacGuire
Perhaps he's up in heaven setting light to angels' haloes
Perhaps he's down in hell dancing round the fire
Are you a reincarnation I wonder? I did enjoy the story.
This rating does not count towards story rating or author rank.
The highest and the lowest rating are not included in calculations.
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This reminded me of a song I used to sing:
Tim McGuire by Leon Rosselson
Little Tim MacGuire loved to play with fire
Always hated water, never used to wash
Loved the smell of burning, of bonfires burning
Loved to play all day with his little tinder box
He chased the sparks as they flew into the evening
Hailed the flash of lightning and the burning sun
When I'm a man then I'll become a fireman
Then I can light a fire for everyone
When he was four they dressed him in a uniform
Sent him to a school with iron railings all around
Hated the school and the rules and the railings
Took his little tinder box and burnt it to the ground
Oh how he laughed and danced in the firelight
Oh how he laughed as the flames leapt to the sky
When I'm a man I'm going to be a fireman
Keep a bonfire burning until the day I die
When MacGuire grew older they made him wear a bowler
Set him to work in an office in the town
Hated the pens and the pins and the papers
Had just one ambition, to burn the office down
Little Tim MacGuire loved to play with fire
Loved the blaze of roses and the golden grain
Loved the leaves of autumn, the red leaves of autumn
Loved a slender girl with a smile like a flame
The judge said at his trial, Your behaviour has been vile
You're a menace to society though you may think you're big
You have to go to prison - and then, what a commotion
For smoke and fire were pouring from the judge's wig
Oh how he laughed and danced in the courtroom
We took him down, we locked him in the darkness of the cell
Never saw the sun or heard the songbirds calling
Saw the prison bars and heard the prison bell
Then early one morning just as the day was dawning
A great wheel of fire spun skywards from the jail
The iron bars melted, the stone walls crumbled
No one in the prison lived to tell the tale
No one ever found Tim MacGuire's little tinder box
No one ever found a trace of Tim MacGuire
Perhaps he's up in heaven setting light to angels' haloes
Perhaps he's down in hell dancing round the fire
Are you a reincarnation I wonder? I did enjoy the story.
This rating does not count towards story rating or author rank.
The highest and the lowest rating are not included in calculations.
Comment Written 11-Apr-2022
Comment from RodG
I truly enjoyed your family memory wrapped around the theme of fire. I can easily visualize you and your family sitting around a campfire toasting sausages. I especially like how you focus on your father twice, first as he's lighting his pipe and much later when he has Alzheimer's and you're both sitting in a tent by the fireplace toasting marshmallows. Overall, a rich series of experiences your reader can share vicariously. Rod
This rating does not count towards story rating or author rank.
The highest and the lowest rating are not included in calculations.
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I truly enjoyed your family memory wrapped around the theme of fire. I can easily visualize you and your family sitting around a campfire toasting sausages. I especially like how you focus on your father twice, first as he's lighting his pipe and much later when he has Alzheimer's and you're both sitting in a tent by the fireplace toasting marshmallows. Overall, a rich series of experiences your reader can share vicariously. Rod
This rating does not count towards story rating or author rank.
The highest and the lowest rating are not included in calculations.
Comment Written 11-Apr-2022
Comment from Wendy G
I very much enjoyed this story, beautifully written and linking elements of fire with your family memories. What a lovely thing to do with your father as he suffered from Alzheimer's. One thing I'd for sure- he knew you loved him. This piece is such a lovely tribute to your happy family and the memories you made together. Best wishes for the contest.
Wendy
reply by the author on 11-Apr-2022
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I very much enjoyed this story, beautifully written and linking elements of fire with your family memories. What a lovely thing to do with your father as he suffered from Alzheimer's. One thing I'd for sure- he knew you loved him. This piece is such a lovely tribute to your happy family and the memories you made together. Best wishes for the contest.
Wendy
Comment Written 11-Apr-2022
reply by the author on 11-Apr-2022
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I appreciate this fantastic review. I nearly lit the fire in the lounge room and got some marshmallows out in nostalgia, but it's not quite cold enough.
Comment from Carlos' girl
This is a beautiful entry for the contest. Your father sounds like a lovely man. Campfires are so fun for families to gather round. My dad smoked a pipe occasionally and he was my hero too. Thank you for a charming story.
Xoxo Carlos' girl
reply by the author on 11-Apr-2022
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This is a beautiful entry for the contest. Your father sounds like a lovely man. Campfires are so fun for families to gather round. My dad smoked a pipe occasionally and he was my hero too. Thank you for a charming story.
Xoxo Carlos' girl
Comment Written 11-Apr-2022
reply by the author on 11-Apr-2022
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Thanks for your wonderful review! My Dad adopted me and we were always very close.
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That is beautiful.
