Although a fire hose is included in the emergency fire kit of many buildings, you should be warned that these hoses are very difficult to use. First, they are heavy when they need to be hauled to a fire or a water source. Secondly, once the water is running, it rushes very strongly through the hose and the hose may become difficult to handle or control. Ideally, there should be more than one person operating the hose in order to keep control of it. And lastly, it’s very important to remember that water, and therefore fire hose rollers, is not necessarily the right way to extinguish a fire. Fires where the only thing burning is wood or paper can be extinguished with water, but it is extremely dangerous to put water on an electrical fire and it may simply make the situation worse.

I think a lot…I think about my day, my family, friends, school, and work. You name it, I think about it. Usually these thoughts keep me in a suspended realm of stress, but the one thing that keeps me sane through all these thoughts is the creative side of my mind that battles my rationality. I have to let my mind wander sometimes so it can find moments in time to stop and smell the roses. I find that in deep times of stress I find the inspiration to paint, draw, write, or create something somehow that is quite beautiful. It doesn’t happen often, but when it does inspiration hits me in the most unusual, delightful, and outstanding ways! Those short bursts of imagination and inspiration are the things that keep me going.

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Electricity, light, cell phones, and computers are all amazing. I would also say that indoor plumbing, the wheel, and medicines were important. So why does my title indicate that refrigerators are heroes among others? I have a love affair with food. Without refrigeration, some of that food I adore would not last as long. I would become sick and that’s never a good thing. Before the invention of refrigerators, one had to either depend on nature (freshwater lakes, snow, ice, etc.) to keep food and drinks cool/cold. Then came this lovely piece of technology that could be used to destroy bacteria, mold, and other unsightly things growing on food.  Really, how could one not think it was the greatest invention ever?

I would go back in time, because for one I don’t know how much time we all have left on the earth before we all kill ourselves, and two I could pick and choose things that I want to see, and there is plenty in the past to occupy my time with. One thing I would do is go to a lot of concerts. I’d go see Jimi Hendrix light his guitar on fire, I’d go watch Jim Morrison get dragged off stage by the police, I’d see Kurt Cobain’s last show. All the classics. I wouldn’t try to change anything, even if that’s how time travel worked, I’d just go and watch important things unfold. I think I’d split my time between living in Ancient Rome and living in the 1920’s. Simpler times really appeal to me, and with being able to travel backwards, I could choose any time I wanted.

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I had a teacher in high school, one of those power trip types that was the most feared of all teachers. It seems like even other teachers had to listen to him, for whatever reason, and now in hind sight, I realize that he was just a little man with no real authority. He’d been teaching for about 30 years, so in his mind, I see now that to him the whole world was that school, and he was the king of it all. Now I look in from the outside and which that I had told him to f**k himself. Literally, those words. It would have been worth a detention or whatever it is they give kids for saying naughty words. I actually feel bad for him now, with such a narrow mind set, but oh well, the guy deserves to see the world as so small.

As a kid I remember some of the best days being in middle school, and there was that really innocent liking of girls, immature flirting and daily preteen drama that I really miss. It was all so new and exciting, but at the same time it was safe and even then I think I knew there was nothing to lose because it wasn’t really very serious. Now that I’m in my 20’s, that’s gone forever, and while ultimately I’m ok with that, it’s kind of depressing to think about that being gone now. I really loved the irrational puppy love and crushes, and how there was no deception or real dishonesty. Everyone was perfect for everyone else, for at least a week or two anyway, and we all moved on from everything so quickly. Good times back then.

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My goals in life are pretty basic I suppose; I want to fall in love with one person and marry them, I want to have a steady income and own land, and become financially independent. I’m on my way to doing those things I think, only time can tell, but so far, I’ve done none of them. More obscurely, I’d also like to write a novel. I’ve got one in my mind and I have the ability I think, but it’s just a matter of cranking it out. I’d also like to record an entire full length album, which I think I also have in me, but again, I’d have to sit down and start cranking it out. I really just want to be happy, and whatever that ends up being, I don’t care about the specifics.

If I could relive my last five years, I would waste less time and be more social, and I think over all I would end up being a happier person. I’ve spent a lot of time dwelling on past mistakes, then hating myself too much to build new relationships with people, platonic or not, and if I had not done that, I would have made life a lot better. It’s easier said than done, but with hind sight, anything would be worth not being mostly alone for years at a time. Five years ago in college I had no idea what I wanted to do, so again, with hind sight, I would be able to avoid the academic wandering I did and focus on my future goals. That would be an amazing gift to go back and relive five years.

Teaching fire safety must be a priority in houses with little children. The foundational knowledge of what to do when faced with a fire hazard may seem obvious to adults, but this knowledge may be foreign to small minds. Keeping small fire extinguishers in the house is a smart move because a fire blanket seems counter intuitive. “Really? Let’s put something on top of the fire? Won’t that add to it?” This is not to say that they don’t work, it just seems like a better move to have something that you can extinguish fires with without having to move closer to the flames than is absolutely necessary.

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With only two weeks less, I would try not to dwell on my regrets, but I know I have some. There are a lot of opportunities in my past that I did nothing with, and those are the worst. A lot of relationships I’ve passed by especially, I regret those the most. It’s one of those “it’s better to love and loose than to have never loved at all”, and I did a lot more not loving than loving. Also with my education, I slacked off a lot and ended with mediocrity, closing off other more prestigious opportunities. About what I would do, I’ve always said if I had only a short time to live, like a month or less, I’d say my goodbyes, then kill myself. Something about saying “you can’t fire me, I quit” to life seems really appealing to me, and I realize the difference between a week to live and no more time is insignificant, so to me, it would be worth it.