Re-amber the Fire

Restarting the fire from the last bit of coals in a fireplace, had once been important to human survival. The word re-amber implies more than just memory, but a shared burning of bright endless possibilities, when paired with the idea, that better living through chemistry would awaken, dreams out of a dark past of foolishly, eating the reagents.

They did not know what we would be, but they had apparently done a great deal of research into the past. They explained how the word remember had evolved from the need to reignite the fire early in the morning. Some of us still had fireplaces in our homes, but the world was changing. We where not quite the one little two little three little Indians, they seemed to be expecting. The group of at risk 4 year old's was mostly white-ish with only a few dark features, that might have been left over, from the native Americans, Lewis and had Clark had met on their expedition.

In this time period fire was not the only hazard, young children needed to be aware of. Dangerous chemicals were used in our homes. We often played London bridge and sung along, take the keys and lock them up, lock them up, my fair lady. Nothing was ever written down, but we practiced and practiced, in the hopes that things of the past might find there way into the future.

By this time the Berkeley fire of 1904, was only a legend. We would pound our fists with imaginary anger as we recalled the events leading to the epic fire. We recited, "The truth it was there there in the wall over there in Lewis Hall." Then we waved our fists and "yelled, Manhattan, Mangle, Trin-it-ty tell us the truth about the particles 3," than painting with an imaginary paintbrush, "Alice the queen said, paint the white roses red, the truth will be told, in the records of the dead." Then we put our hands to our cheeks with surprise, Berkeley's on, Fire! Berkeley's on, Fire! Then recalling the triumphant prayer at Trinity church far from our North Idaho lives. The unstable Anion song. It was so important we practiced in till the others could do it perfectly and even I was close enough to getting it right. "and we will re-amber forever, we will never forget it turn your head and you will be looking at it." It would always be there, something so common, that it learning it early, might help, boost us out of our "at risk" situation, or even lead us to fly through space in fish-ships based on the design of atoms, too small to see. Imagine not just understanding, the waves of space as fish understand the sea, but awakening dreams in the children of today. Too many possibilities for one person to explore, enough to keep the fire of inventions, from things too small to see, burning forever.

THE UNSTABLE ANION SONG
http://maryamericanidiot.blogspot.com/2017/06/the-unstable-anion-song.html

Berkeley Fire Department
https://www.cityofberkeley.info/fire/