philcrissman.com

We had a small group of friends come by last night [New Year's Eve, that is]; we ate appetizers, played Hoopla, and talked, all until about 11 PM.

Then we hopped in the cars and drove about a half hour outside the cities, to where another friend of ours lived.

When we arrived, the fesitivities were just getting under way.

The Christmas tree — which must have been about 12 feet tall — had been taken into the snow out back. Our host dragged it out to the pond which was frozen over in the back yard, and propped the tree up with some cedar posts. The tree was decorated with firecrackers and bottle-rockets; not long after, it was doused with gasoline.

This promised to be entertaining.

A “wick” of sorts was formed by taking a roll of paper towels and creating a continuous line from the tree to a point about twenty feet away. These paper towels were also dutifully doused with gasoline.

We retreated to a point where we felt comfortable. There were quite a few fireworks on the tree.

The wick was lit, and the fire flew up the paper towels to the tree, which proceeded to burst into flames and send firecrackers shooting in many different directions. I had been observing from the comfort of the home, watching through a sliding glass door, and can confirm that the heat from the blaze was noticable from inside the house.

So, that’s how we blew up a tree on New Year’s Eve.

Happy New Year!