Stay calm while your hair is on fire

Stay calm.  Why is this important? 

Take for example a fella who today is anything but Captain Cautious. Probably due to the cold medication he is on. He heads out to his shop and sparks up a project on the work bench.  Now a MIG welder throws heavy sparks, so he is extra cautious.  He moves the jerry can of gasoline off to the side, he might even put the lid back on, and might shove the propane tank out from under his feet.  Whoa! What about that big stack of oily rags right there.  Good thing I…. I mean ‘He’ is super safe this time.  That could have been dangerous.

No one could have foreseen the next few events. I mean, what are the odds that welding sparks would fly through the air a good 24 inches, land still ignited in a rusty bucket of bent nails, burn through a perfectly good plastic shopping bag, ignite the fuse that was attached to a semi-to very long string of Black Cat fire crackers. (yes, they may have been brought across the border by one of his shady friends around the past 4^th of July).

In the panic that ensues, a calm, collective reaction is unlikely.  More likely this fella ends up dropping the MIG welder into the puddle of water at his feet that is the result of seeping water under a wall of his shop from backed up ice against a foundation.

Forget about 1000 rounds of sparring how about “1000 Ways to Die”. 

I guess the lesson here is to expect the unexpected.  The unexpected being the frightened animal response that instinctively rises when you combine electricity, hot metal, explosives and a nincompoop.

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