Matches

[David]

[bdcochran]

Thank you Dave for the reminder to buy some decent matches.
Yesterday, I took a plastic bag of book matches outside to heat up some compressor hose I was repairing with a repair kit.

Miserable match books. They had been stored new in a kitchen cabinet for years. Many failed to light.

If they were available (and they haven't been for years), I would have bought phosphorus matches for back up. They can be struck on any surface. What is passed off in advertising today as "strike anywhere" matches are definitely not "strike anywhere". Today I ordered 10 units of 32 unit special strike on the box matches on Amazon. I will keep them in the match location in the house.

Yeah, I have all kinds of fire starters, lighters, etc. in the garage. Don't keep them in the house.

[David]

Cody Lundin, in his book 98.6 Degrees, talks about the last Indian to come out of the wilderness and into civilization (I don't recall what tribe). Of all the things he had never experienced that amazed him the most, the match was the #1 thing. The ability to create fire with a flick of the wrist amazed him. Of course this was quite some time ago but it does illustrate many of the things that we take for granted in our world.

As a side note, people often kid him or look in wonder that Cody Lundin hasn't worn shoes in around 30 years. Then he reminds people that half the world still doesn't wear shoes. Puts things in perspective.

[bdcochran]

"Then he reminds people that half the world still doesn't wear shoes. Puts things in perspective."

It was winter, January 1980 in the PRC. The cultural revolution was just ending. Many areas were off limits, to natives as well. I remember dirty kids, shoeless, playing in the mud and snow (when the show children were in the show school wearing new and clean clothes). Nationally, schools were closed for about 10 years except to children of certain party members.

[David]