Beginnings

790,000 to one million years ago Homo Erectus conquered the control of fire. It has been perhaps the single most important leap forward in mankind's evolution. Fire is a tool and weapon. It provides heat and chases the darkness away. It has lead to the discoveries of new technologies. To this day most people use fire every day, it drives our cars, provides electricity and heats many stoves. Many people in this world still cook directly on fire and still gather around a central campfire. We still do that too, just as our ancestors did 790,000 years ago. Campfires are nostalgic things; there is a spiritual bond between human beings and campfires. From the dawn of civilization the campfire has served as a gathering place, a kitchen, a war council, a department of state, a school and an altar. Humans have made war and treaties from the campfire. We have passed down knowledge and prayed to the gods. We have shared stories and songs around them. In this Blog I would like to share some of my stories, songs,poemss, skits and memories from a lifetime spent around a campfire. Most are not mine, some are, I will try to give credit where credit is due, but many of these stories have been passed down from one generation to the next, growing, changing and evolving. In a way the credit must ultimately go to mankind as a whole. Perhaps some of these have their roots at the first campfire when that first human sang a song to the gods for his little ones and made the dark something not so fearsome.

cdl