It was on the shores of Lake Shakamak, Indiana, where I encountered my first flaming marshmallow. I was maybe five or six years old, sitting cross-legged in front of a lazy fire, wearing baggy kid’s shorts. You know the kind— the ones with gaping leg holes wide enough to cover up a dead elephant. Lightning bugs flitted, frogs croaked, insects hummed. For an hour or so I had been perfecting the fine art of roasting marshmallows: positioning them just so on a sharpened stick, not placing any two with touching sides, rotating them slowly as they turned a bubbly golden brown, little by little.
Much to my angst, one nasty fellow caught fire. My sister, Pat shouted: “Quick, Tim… blow it out!”
In a sheer state of panic, I raised the stick up and puffed on the flaming marshmallow. It grew brighter, then slipped off the end of the stick and plunged like a smoldering meteorite right through one of those elephant-shorts leg-holes, glowing as it sizzled smack dab in the middle of my tiny bare crotch.
I haven’t roasted a marshmallow since.
(originally published and copyrighted© 1998-2010 by Simply Tim in the Recipe du Jour news letter.)
I remember that post from the first time. at that time I laughed til I cried. I could just see that little boy with his crouch on fire. LOL
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So nice to have you back… love your blog! 🙂
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Thanks, I needed that! I’m still laughing…you really have a way with words!! Loved you before, love you more now!!!
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eeeeeooooowwwww!!!!
Scarred, literally, by a childhood experience!!!
Poor Tim!!
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This may give you some sense of vengeance!
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Man, oh man!
Revenge truly is…sweet.
Thankyouthakyouthankyou!
–Tim
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Ouch, ouch, ouch!!!!
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Have you seen the new giant marshmallows in the store lately, they are about 3 inches in diameter! One of those still flaming would have done you in! LOL
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I think I’ll pass on the big mallows. Ya know, after all these years, every time I see a marshmallow — even the mini-ones — I still get an uncomfortable, uh … tingling down, uh … you know where.
–Tim
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Egad! The nougat almost nixed the nuggets : )
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Good to have you back Tim. I’m enjoying your new blog. So much better than reading all the political junk I’ve been getting lately.
Janet
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Thank you for sharing that. I truly “laughed out loud!”
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Tim – thanks for posting this story! It is my favorite! :o)
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Owwwwwwwwwwwww! That’s horrible!
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If that had happened to my boys, they would still be jumping up and down
jodie
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I think someone is having fun with their new blog…..
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Oh Wow, that must have been Horrendous!
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