When we moved from town to the country back in the 60’s we cleared the land, cut some trees and had them sawed into lumber. 

Dad built a garage the next year and it was my job to clean it every Saturday. Well this Saturday Dad went to work early and told Ma to have me clean the garage, it was a little messy! When I got up Mom relayed that message to me as I started watching Saturday morning westerns! 

About an hour later Ma said again, “YOU BETTER GET ON THAT GARAGE OR YOUR GONNA GET IT WHEN DAD GETS HOME!”  

I knew what that meant! There could be any number of correctional gestures applied to me!!!! You see that was all the incentive I needed to go out to the cold garage and say “Goodbye” to Roy Rogers.

The first thing I did was get some wood and the wood was a little damp, so I did what Dad had showed me a few times before. You take about a cup of gas and mix it with 3 cups of used motor oil then you use a reasonable amount on the wood to get it going. This I did a few times, it would burn and then go out!

Well, I thought maybe a little more gas to the mixture might help? I did this and I may have increased the amount a little more? I closed the barrel stove door and lit a match and put it in one of the vent holes! Nothing! I lit the next match and put it in the vent hole, then I flicked it in the stove with the end of my finger and stood back? Nothing and then KA BOOM!

The stove door went flying past me, the stove jumped in the air and all the pipes blew off!! There was fire and smoke coming out of both ends of the stove. I stood there froze! I had really done it now! Lucky for me the fire went out as fast as it had started. I quickly put a coffee can on the stove pipe hole and put the door back on. Luckily it wasn’t broken.

The garage was now filled with thick smoke and the first thing I did was peek through a small hole in the garage door facing the house to make sure Ma wasn’t coming as I was sure she would have heard that noise! But she didn’t!!! Now that I had calmed down a little I started looking for the stove pipe, I found 2 sections but 1 was missing? I even went outside and looked but I thought it somehow went out the concrete chimney? Well, I eventually found it! It was stuck up in the roof boards. It had shot straight up there. I got a ladder and got it down and put it back together! Paper was now my choice of fire starter and my half a day job was now 2 days. I had soot everywhere so I started cleaning. I sure didn’t want Dad to see this!

About noon Mom came out to let me know lunch was just about ready and she noticed it was a little bit smoky in there? I told her that I had a little trouble getting the wood to burn but she did think I was doing a nice job though.

I did manage to get the mess cleaned up though and when Dad came home, he was amazed at the job I had done. He couldn’t believe it?? Dad told me I could ride the snowmobile all I wanted so I fired it up and out the door I went! I made one trip around the driveway and when I came back, I saw Dad looking at the floor where the sled had been.

He motioned me back and asked how soot and ash got under the snowmobile? OH BOY! I had to tell him the whole story and park the snowmobile. I was done riding!

We then went in the house and Dad told Ma what I had done, and Ma got after Dad for showing me how to light the stove with gas!

Well, no sled riding for me for a week – that hurt!

After dinner Dad, myself, and my little brother Tony who was about 5 went outside and Dad let my brother ride the sled and of course I was grumbling about that so Dad let me go clean the roof on the garage. He thought that might make me feel better?

I told him I didn’t think that would help, but he said, “Get to it!”

I started shoveling and a few minutes later I heard a BANG! I went to the edge of the garage roof, laid down and looked over and there was the snowmobile, one ski stuck in the garage siding and my brother walking to the house!

Dad asked him, “What happened!?”

He just kept walking and said, “I TOLD YOU THAT THING DOESN’T TURN VERY GOOD!”

Dad tried to pull it out but couldn’t and I may or may not have been grinning? I may have also said, “I KNEW THAT WAS GOING TO HAPPEN.”

I was then told to get down and help pull the sled out and had another week added to my no sled riding!

I’m pretty sure this was how a normal week for me went!