As some of you may know, I make my living as a Professional Pilot, which helps support my deer hunting addiction. While flying across country the other day, my partner on the flight deck and I were playing the “trying to stay awake game”(if the public ever knew what really happened on flight decks, they would all drive to their destinations, I do !).
The question was asked what man’s greatest invention is. Jake, my flying partner (and hunting buddy) voted for the computer chip. A good answer and certainly marvelous things have come from it in the last 30 years. Lap tops, robotics, iPods (my kids favorite), cell phones, space travel, advancements in medicine, etc. There is no question the computer chip certainly has made our lives easier.
My answer you ask? Fire. Now before anyone says “Man didn’t invent Fire” maybe “harness” is a better term. But just imagine how those first Brontosaurus Ribs tasted (can you say BBQ!), or how it warmed up a dark, damp cave, or teepee on the Dakota Prairie. Envision the Romans forging a metal sword, or the local blacksmith re-shoeing your horse. Pioneers drying wet clothing from a Missouri river crossing while trekking west. Heck, even Jack Daniels needs charcoaled barrels to make his fine adult beverage.
Remember roasting marshmallows when you were a kid? Or a warm fire back at camp after chasing Elk on a snowy mountain top? How about fighting for a spot next to the fireplace at Cracker Barrel before ordering Uncle Hershel’s Breakfast, or the sound of wood crackling under a heavy iron skillet filled with fresh Walleye at a classic Canadian Shore lunch?
As I write this, it is 61 degrees here in Mississippi on March 1st. I am sitting in front of my fire pit in the back yard, mesmerized by the sound of the crackling flames and its warm glow. Yup, my vote is for man’s greatest invention….. fire. I just want to know when Michael Dell can come up with a longer lasting battery for my laptop!
Mark Bernegger
www.sportsmanscondo.com
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