Wednesday, September 15, 2010

Burn, Baby, Burn

Saturday night, I had a date with my husband. Things have been crazy (even with the vacation), so it had been a really long time. We planned a bike ride along the Potomac trail, and I was SO excited! It's just cool to ride along with the Lincoln and Washington monuments staring at you from across the river.

I was getting a quick dinner for the kids minutes before our babysitter arrived, when the phone rang. I answered it, but apparently I've lost my finely honed multi-tasking abilities, because I promptly grabbed the pan from the oven with both hands.

Yup, that would be bare hands. The pot holders sitting right there on the counter, staring me in the face. Insult to injury, I tell you.

Needless to say, we canceled our bike ride and decided to do the Lincoln Memorial (by night) instead. I brought my ice-pack with us, but it lost it's cold all too soon. I was honestly having delusions of being able to shoot fire balls with just a flick of my fingers.

 (That thing I'm holding is the ice-pack)

So then I was thinking how awesome that would be! But wait, what would I even do with such a power?

Yeah, I know, this really doesn't have much to do with writing (unless you want to think of it as a character exercise), but here's my question: If you could shoot fire balls with your hands, what would you do with it? World domination? Pyro-maniac encounters? Work for the government? Start an occasional camp fire?

23 comments:

Renae said...

Very cool power. I can't decide what I'd do with it...the possibilities are endless. I do hope your hands are feeling better!

Vicki Rocho said...

I would make that damn pot of water BOIL for one.

I would put on quite a show the next time we had a fire in the fire pit...

I would practice shooting them through hoops.

Can I control it after I release it? If so, I'd do loop-dee-loops and "write" things in the sky. It'd be flippin awesome.

Oh (on a roll now) I'd use it to melt the snow off the driveway in the winter time

I'd find a way to release just a LITTLE bit of heat so my hands and feet stay reasonably warm Nov through April.

How's that?

Candyland said...

I know a few people I'd like to shoot fire balls AT...

Stina said...

Oh, that would be a cool power. But knowing my luck, it wouldn't be a power. It would be a handicap. You know, end up accidentally destroying things I don't want to. What can I say? I'm clumsy.

I've been close to grabbing hot things, without using pot holders, because I'm distracted. ;)

Unknown said...

Oh no! That's awful about your hands but I hope you're feeling better and at least now you have the ice pack close to your hands!

This is tough, what would I do with such a power. Use it to fight against evil I suppose. Protect myself, and hope that it never become uncontrollable!

Private said...

Poor you! I'd tell everyone I was a magician and go on tour!

Joanne said...

I think I'd use that power in the winter to start up the fireplace, and then curl up in a chair with a good book, sparking the fire every now and then when it dies down. Hope your hands are feeling better!

Laurel Garver said...

Owie! Sorry about your burns. :-(

Like Stina, I think it might become more of a handicap. But it would be useful to use the power to run a lucrative de-icing business. Though that would probably require working in some miserable place like an oil rig in the arctic sea or the science station in Antarctica. Shooting water would be a more useful superpower, I think.

Tere Kirkland said...

Vigilante, of course! ;)

Hope your burns are better. That is the worst kind of injury. Hurts forever and heals slowly.

Kenda Turner said...

Oh, man, I don't know what I'd do with such power--my mind's on the idea of a bike ride with the Lincoln Memorial in the background. That would be so neat. Sorry about your "mishap" and hope you make the ride sometime soon :-)

Unknown said...

You sound like the character from a book I recently read, Hot Mama by Jennifer Estep. The MC is a super hero / fashion designer who can shoot fireballs from her hands and burst into flames on demand.

Jemi Fraser said...

I'm constantly burning myself or slicing myself in the kitchen! On Christmas I walked around for hours with a cup of cold water & ice cubes while I got the dinner ready *sigh* Hope you're feeling better!

Saumya said...

Oh no!!! I hope you're feeling better! I do things like that all the time even when the consequences are glaring right back at me. Haha I think I'd just light candles with that super power!

Caroline Tung Richmond said...

Oh, do you live in the DC area? So cool! I just moved to Potomac. (Moving back in with the parents! Ahh! Hopefully, my husband and I will find a place of our own soon...)

Jaydee Morgan said...

Yikes - hope your hands heal soon. As far as shooting fireballs, I'm not sure but it would sure beat shoveling out the driveway in the winter.

Christina Lee said...

OUCH--you poor dear! S'mores for everyone ;--)

Carolina M. Valdez Schneider said...

Oh my word, you poor thing, getting burnt. And on date night!! I love date night, but talk about putting a damper on things. but looks like you guys still had a nice time. I bet the writing is hindered, though. :(

MikeS said...

Well, at least you have a doctor to wait on you hand and foot, or just hand in this case.

If I could shoot fire, I'd audition for a part in the Last Airbender as Fire Lord Ozai.

Julie Musil said...

Oh my gosh, you poor thing! I hope you're doing ok.

Fire....hmmm, if it could somehow be related to throwing a great dinner on the table in about five minutes, that's what I'd do with those powers.

Anonymous said...

I think I would juggle fireballs on freeway offramps. Thos people juggling oranges make a lot of money. And if I don't get tipped by someone waiting at the red light, I'll light them up good.


Stephen Tremp

Victoria Dixon said...

Oh, no! I'm so sorry about your hands! Second degree? I guess the good news is, your husband was right there to help you dress them. ;D I recommend Silvadene and/or aloevera for burns. (I used Silvadene for a a 3rd degree burn from boiling water and I never scarred. My Mom used aloe for a second degree grease burn and she never burned. Ok. Enough medicalese.)

Honestly, I guess I'd start my character of as seeing this power as a tremendous gift to humanity. Being altruistic and then having it slowly turn against him. But then, I seem to write tragedies. Gawd.... (Groans)

Carin said...

Hehehe...sadly, I have done that too. Mine was with a cookie sheet. I wondered where my brain was when I did that! I hope your hands are feeling better. That is terrible!

Hmmm...if I could shoot fireballs from my hands I would fight injustice (and Magneto) by joining the X-Men. :)

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