Don't Get Burned!

Is it possible that “wanting something too much” can be a bad thing? Thinking about that question reminded me of something that happened when I was just a young boy.

My Mom and Dad had just moved our family to Arizona because my Dad was transferred to a Marine Corps base in Yuma. We lived in a small track house on a treeless street where the backyard of every home blended into never ending sand dunes. It was stark, desolate and barren but yet it had a certain beauty to it as well. As kids we could play safely in the streets because there weren’t very many cars. We could build forts in the sand dunes and shoot basketballs into the driveway hoop until late at night. Night time was the best time because it finally cooled down and you could breathe easier and taste the clean desert air. Sometimes my Dad would let us camp out in the back yard and as we laid there staring up at the night sky, I swear there had to be at least a billion stars.

It took a few months for me to get used to the heat, but as we got farther into summer the temperatures rarely dipped below 100 degrees. As a kid I could handle it but I remember Mom and Dad struggling to find ways to cool down. We didn’t have sprinklers so we played with the hose in the front yard, squirting each other and loving the way it felt, not caring what the neighbors thought. My skin got so dark I looked like I fell into a vat of chocolate. And I never wore shoes, unless of course we were going to church. And the best thing of all, when you’re a kid living in extreme desert heat is…. ice cream!

One day I was playing alone in our back yard when I heard the Ice Cream Truck going down the street. By the time I got out front he was past our house and still going, so without thinking I took off after him. I had change in my pocket and by golly…I was gonna get me some ice cream! I ran down the middle of the street and caught up to him quickly yelling, “I want a Drum Stick please!” As I reached into my pocket I realized my bare feet were absolutely on fire. I started to scream as the driver handed me the ice cream and took off at full speed for the nearest grass yard. My feet hurt so bad I tripped and fell, tumbling into the yard, sending the ice cream flying. I was only 8 years old so with major burns and blisters on both feet, and my beloved ice cream ruined, believe me I cried out loud and long. A neighbor lady took pity on me and carried me safely home.

There was definitely a good lesson to be learned from that incident but I’m not sure as a kid I really figured it out. Looking back I can see that sometimes wanting something so much that it causes us to act without thinking, can definitely be a bad thing. I hope from now on I always remember that if I don’t think before I act…I may get burned!

One can only see more clearly when one is going more slowly.

~ Terri Guillemets