Fire in the Hole!

by KAK  

Fire. 

An amazing feat of nature. An amazing word in the English lexicon. It's as versatile and emotional as that other four-letter F-word. Consider the many different ways we've taken a word that encompasses positive notions like warmth, soft lights, entrancing undulations, desire, lust, protection, etc.

Come on, Baby, light my fire.

"Honey, your hands set me on fire." -- Good thing right? Assuming the speaker is in fact someone you desire.

"Let's curl up in front a fire and watch the snow fall while we roast marshmallows and drink wine." -- Sounds like a great night to me.

"Let's fire her up and see what happens." -- Taken wholly out of context, it could be the rallying cry for every inventor and grease-monkey out there.

You're Fired!

Pretty sure the other F-word just leapt to mind, and on the tail of that thought are all the violent and cruel attributes we've tied to Fire -- destructive, lethal, uncontrollable, choking, consuming, raging, etc.

"Fires have consumed three thousand acres in the last hour." -- If you're in the path, you're getting the hell out of Dodge. You fear the fire.


"We'll light a fire under him." -- Pain provokes action. If you're the one getting licked by flames, that's not something you want to hear.

"My crotch is on fire!" -- A more sure people-repellent there is not. Unless they're a doctor or a pharmaceutical scientist. Either way, you don't want to be that guy.

We're fired up!

You're motivated. Incited to action. Good for you. Hopefully whatever you're about to do is good for me. If not, go let the fire consume you.

Fire in the hole!

Duck and cover. A favorite term of the military, special-effects guys, and collegians in Tijuana.

As we kick off the winter holiday season, I wish all of you warmest, snuggliest thoughts of fire.

Wildfire Photo from: http://science.howstuffworks.com/nature/natural-disasters/wildfire.htm