Fire

    Here's a question for you; what is the color of fire?
    Now, don't answer "orange" on me, that won't do! Fire isn't orange, or blue, or whatever. Fire is light, and heat, and black body radiation. Fire is that tingly sensation you get when you see the person you like, or the feeling in your face when you're embarrassed.
    The answer is that fire has no color.
    Science geeks and technical people, bare with me; I realize it appears to have a color. Yes, I've taken chem before and I get that whole subject, and no, I don't care. I'm just writing about the general feeling of fire and how it works with people. Because fire can burn in all colors, depending on what elements are burning, so fire is all colors, creating light. And fire is also not a color in that it touches you like no other color can. Can blue drown you? Can yellow electrocute you? Can green cause you to grow? Nope. But fire can burn you, warm you, calm you, light your way. It is so much more than a color or a chemical reaction.
    All that philosophical jabber set aside, let's talk about why people like fire, pyro-to-pyro. For me, it's the way the embers look when the fire has died down, all smoldery and hot, and how a single flame reacts to wind, growing and building till it's devoured everything in its path. The power of fire fascinates me. S'mores are also delicious.
    Mmmmm.
    Perhaps humans like fire so much because we're built to; when man first discovered how to create and control fire, it was life-changing. Fire gave man the ability to become the powerful force that it is today. Without fire, where would we stand? Well, for starters, we'd all probably be dead, or just frozen. It may be this instinctual feeling towards fire of simultaneous fear and admiration that creates such a strong bond between people and fire.
    Or, it could be that some people just like to watch the world burn.
    Weeeeeee!!
    So, why all the sappy fire stuff, you may ask. To be honest, I don't really know. I think it's because I'm out of school and have no outlet for all of my fancy writing (not that this was fancy). I just have to let it all out! GAH!
    Really though, it's mostly because I went camping this weekend up near Leavenworth. We built a fire every night and every morning, using it to keep us warm and cook. It was a lot of fun, like always. I'd forgotten how much I loved campfires. My sweatshirt still smells like campfire smoke and I keep catching myself sniffing at the collar. I can't wait till later this summer when it's warm enough to go camping every weekend without getting slight frostbite.
    While I was in Leavenworth, I got to try some new chocolate. It's from Seattle Chocolates and is freaking delicious. It's the Pike Place Espresso Dark Chocolate Truffle Bar. Oh. My. Gosh. This chocolate not only uses my lifeblood as its truffle center but is all natural and made in Seattle. That's 45 minutes from my house! Every true chocolate lover needs to try this chocolate at least once. Seattle Chocolates has a bunch of different kinds of bars, all of them wonderful. I found mine at QFC but I bet you can find it all around the PNW. Glorious, local chocolate, where have you been all my life?
     If you come up with some great reasons why you like fire, send 'em my way! Or, if you find a chocolate that you simply cannot live without, please tell me about it!
    Stay classy.
xoxo