The Big Bang (tragedy)

The Big Bang

My lesson about playing with fire was a hard one learned. That one summer day so long ago was one of the longest

days in my life. The morning was a normal one. The afternoon was when things started to heat up. That night was one I thought

would never end.That morning was one just like any other summer day. The sun was bright and warm. We also had family in from

Colorado. My Aunt and Uncle were there with my two cousins. They were planning on staying with us the entire summer. My

parents had just installed a 4 1/2 foot above ground swimming pool for all of us to enjoy that summer.

That afternoon every body was up and busy doing their own things. My brother and I were out in the neighborhood playing

with our friends. When we came home for lunch my dad asked us to unload his truck and put everything in the shed. My parents,

aunt and uncle were leaving to go out for the evening. They were leaving us in the care of my cousins

who are several years older than us. After we had lunch and my parents had left, my brother and I started to unload the truck.

I grabbed the first load and headed for the shed. I was in the shed putting things away for about ten minutes. My brother was

still not back there with another load. I went around the front of the house looking for him when I saw a flash.

As I reached the driveway I saw my brother just as he was throwing another match on the driveway. When the match

hit the concrete a flare of fire leaped up about five foot and was gone just as fast as it appeared. I immediately forgot

about unloading the truck and joined my brother. He explained to me how it worked. He handed me a five-pound can of gunpowder

and told me to pour a small pile out on the driveway. After I did and back away he tore out another match from the pack,

struck it and threw it on the pile of powder. Again the flash leaped from the driveway. We continued this way, with me

pouring and him throwing the match, until we were down to the second to last match. We had to figure out a way to

continue before we were out of matches. We had it. We noticed that when the powder had burned off the match would

still be laying there burning. My brother suggested that we simply pour some on the match. Without thinking it through

another second, I tilted the can and began to pour the powder. Everything that happened after that was a blur. I remember

running backward as fast as I could, still holding onto the can. I threw the can away from me just as it exploded. A blinding

flash filled my head as a crushing boom emptied the air from my lungs. I fell to the ground and remember hearing, as clear

as a bell, the metal ends of the canister bouncing