Some of my less-than-stellar parenting moments have been included in my stories for comic relief. However, I’ve chosen to omit some incidents because they might sound too contrived (even though they’d occurred in real life). In writing classes, I’ve been taught the importance of a believable storyline. But sometimes life is stranger than fiction.
We reside in San Diego, relatively close to Tijuana. One time, we took the kids on an excursion across the border. Our youngest son wanted a box of poppers. They looked like silver “garbanzo beans” and produced a loud pop and bright sparks when tossed on the ground. The impact detonated the silver fulminate and caused an explosion similar to a miniature firecracker. We agreed to the purchase, provided they were only used in our presence and under our supervision. Best laid plans…
Being responsible parents, we hid them in a secret location. Being a crafty child, he figured out that location. One evening, we left him at a neighbor’s birthday party while we attended his brother’s talent show. Shortly after we arrived at the show, we received a frantic phone call from our teenage daughter informing us that he’d been injured.
Apparently, the impish mountain climber had stacked furniture to reach the “hidden” poppers. After he’d extracted them, he’d dumped the sawdust that separated and cushioned the poppers and filled his pockets. Then the little daredevil raced around on his scooter, showing off for his friends. Until he hit a bump… He abruptly sailed airborne and landed with a thud on his side. The impact caused the poppers in his pocket to explode and catch his pants on fire. Flames shot out of his pant leg. A neighbor tried to remove his pants, but he hung onto them because girls were present. Pride before pain. They had to haul him into the closest garage to strip him down and remove the fiery inferno.
If I included the above scenario in my book, many readers would think it was totally outlandish. But, as I said, sometimes life is stranger than fiction.
