Fire on the water

I was never the kid who sat around endlessly daydreaming. I was the kid who, if I had a thought, ran off and tried to do it. This led to the time I almost burned my mom’s woodworking shop to the ground — at least, that’s how I remember it.

I had watched a movie about dragons. It was the first time I had ever seen fire on water. I was watching it with my two older brothers. They were typical 80’s brothers and dismissed questions from their silly little sister without much thought. I asked, “How is that fire burning on water?” Remember, in the 80’s we didn’t have CGI yet. It looked like the water itself was on fire.

My oldest brother likely responded with something like, “Gas, you dork.”

The moment of execution began the second he said “gas.”

First, I had to figure out how to collect water — and enough of it so the top could burn. I was eight years old, so a big, shallow plastic container seemed like a reasonable depth and surface area. I filled it with water from the hose.

My dad is handy — and at that stage, trusting — because I knew exactly where to find gas. He had gas of all types and sizes. I just picked one I could handle. I was eight.

At that point, there were two major components. But I needed the final item: something to start the fire. That part was easy. I had matches in my pocket the whole time. Matches seemed common around my house for some reason — maybe we just had more matches back then than lighters? Who knows. It was matches.

You can imagine how this story goes.

I poured the gas on top of the water, lit the match, and — luckily — it was far enough away from me and the shop that there was no real damage. I did manage to scare myself half to death and immediately realized this was very, very bad. If I got caught, I was toast.

I did accomplish my goal, though. The fire burned on the water.

Looking back now, I realize this was my first real science project — and the only one I remember. I was solo, on a mission, and knew exactly how to get the matches. I could have all the parts and pieces, but without the matches, nothing would happen. No fire. No result.

So today, when you’re assembling all the parts and pieces, ask yourself: do you have the matches? And if you don’t then start there.

Safety note: PLEASE DO NOT PUT GAS, WATER, AND FIRE TOGETHER.

Original Draft in Word, Final edits ChatGPT