Chapter
1
The Five classic elements. We hear about them all the time. Well, maybe not the fifth. We interact with them on a daily basis. It is apart of our lives. We could learn about them in school like most....or we could learn about them from our parents. In our case, from our Daddy. He says we can only enjoy them (like anything) in moderation.
Lets start with fire. Daddy has shown us fire. Fire, which helps us cook our meals together. We love it when Daddy asks us to help make the foods we eat. It gives us a sense of accomplishment and who wouldn't want to eat the food they prepared with their own two or six hands? He always reminds us to stay away from the flames and the hot surfaces it creates. He's very aggressive and assertive when he says this. Every single time we cook with him.
On a less intense note, he has pointed out the warmth and calmness a fire can produce when we went to a friends house and Daddy let us sit in front of a fireplace. What a feeling. The heat was coming off the flames like magic. We were amazed how something so powerful could be confined in a box in the wall. Then something as dramatic as a dancing flame on a candle, can light up a room, to chase away the darkness.
We would say we love fire, but we could remember when Daddy was driving around Dundalk following this tower of smoke. Daddy said it was created because a building had caught on fire. He wanted to see where. You would think this crazy of a man driving a minivan filled with three children(our sister Jazmine was with us at the time) but it wasn't. We finally found the source of the pillar of smoke. Daddy said it was the old Seagram's plant on Sollers Point Road, where they bottled soda. Daddy pulled over where the police block was put up. He parked and escorted us out. We were a safe distance away. We couldn't feel the heat, but we could see the flames bellowing out of the building.Creating black and gray smoke that shot up to the sky. It was truly a marvel to witness. We asked him, "Why did the building catch fire?". He said he didn't know. Then, we asked him "What were the firemen were doing?". He said "Trying to control the fire and put it out.". "Is the fire out of control?" we asked. He said "Not yet, but if the firemen don't extinguish the flames, the houses near by might catch fire. People live in those houses and they don't want to lose their homes." We watched for sometime as the firemen used water hoses to put out the flames. It wasn't as wonderful to see the flames this time. It was scary to the point Daddy said we had to leave, just in case the fire spread. We went to the van, got in, and drove away.
Later that day Daddy told us the Firefighters beat the fire. No one was hurt and the houses around the old Seagram's building were untouched. Thank you, Firefighters. What an experience. Fire is truly a force to be reckoned with. Daddy says "You shouldn't play with fire because it doesn't play with you, It does exactly what its supposed to do. Burn and destroy. You should respect it.". We are grateful for the knowledge of new things. Daddy can see it in our eyes. He taught us something else you might find interesting. He said "The five elements are associated with the five senses, and act as the gross medium for the experience of sensations. fire is the third highest on the list. It can be heard, felt and seen." That must be the reason Daddy always says "don't touch", and come to think of it, fire doesn't have a smell, only the object that is on fire does. Clever Daddy. Your the best.
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