I imagine everyone here watched SURVIVOR this past Sunday night, for those who haven't there was a fire challenge, a fire making test to see who goes on to the next level and who gets voted off. Sandra and Becky were given equal amounts of tender, kindling and wood. They were also given a knife and flint to create sparks. After an hour of no success they were given matches. Sandra, in her attempt, ran out of matches. Becky, an hour and a half later into the challenge, was able to build a fire big enough to burn through the rope which rang the bell.

Never having actually built a fire in the true sense, I laughed and thought I could do a better job.

Yesterday was too nice of day to build a fire in the fire place. Today, after coming home from a funeral, I put my self to the test. I began with leaves, small twigs, bigger sticks and a log. After a few tries without the Tinder-Quik, I tried with the Tinder-Quik. To make a long story short, after countless tries with the Spark-Lite, three Tinder-Quiks, newspaper, two matches, an artificial log and thirty-four minutes I got a fire going. This has indeed been a humbling experience; however, it is good to learn now where my short comings are than to learn this in a survival situation. Until I am able to improve my skills, I will keep an artificial log in my trunk.

Jeanette Isabelle