My childhood home had central heat and air in our house but it was too costly to heat the house in the winter and cool it down in the summer. We relied on the fire in the fire place to keep us warm when it was cold and ceiling fans to keep us cool when it was hot.
Daddy got up before the roosters even thought about crowing every morning. We were assured on those cold winter mornings there would be a roaring fire to back up to once we poked our noses out from under the covers. There was a hearth big enough for us to perch upon. And like all owners of fireplaces, we had the necessary tools to tend to the fire. We had a poker, tongs, shovel and broom.
Mind you, we were taught that a fireplace is not a place to burn trash because of (1) it could cause quicker build up of soot in the chimney and (2) the embers from trash could land on top of the shingle roof and catch the house on fire. Kids don't always listen.
Marshall and I are pyros. We inherited the pyro gene from our father. Therefore, we were most fascinated with the broom in the tool set. We would break off a piece of straw and light the end of it and pretend we were smoking cigarettes. Sexy; right? Our parents never caught us "smoking" broom straw. However, it was obvious at the end of the cold season that we were responsible for the broom being nothing but a nub.
If we were feeling really brave, we would toss a sheet of Kleenex in the fire just to see how quickly it would burn. Newspaper made the prettiest flames -- especially the Sunday comic pages. Thankfully we never caught the roof on fire. I'm sure the father figure cursed a little when he cleaned the chimney.
Sam and I live in a ranch house that has no central heat or air. We rely on the propane gas inserts in the fire places to keep us warm during the cold season. Window units and ceiling fans keep us cool during the hot season. I haven't smoked broom straw in over 35 years but I bet I could go through at least three brooms per cold season if I picked up the habit again. :)
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