Kickass and the solstice fire

Kickass, the doorstop dog, attended the Mazomanie solstice fire with the keeper and Phyllis, along with a generous portion of the local populace, and a good time was had by all, especially the kids roasting marshmallows on very long sticks.  The solstice marks a beginning of longer days, which the keeper says is increasingly important to his age group, and then he did an off-key version of a Christmas song that almost put the fire out.

There is something about friends, family and neighbors gathering in the dark of night around a blazing fire that stirs the earliest embers of DNA and shores up tribal ties that make it necessary and good to live together in a spirit of charity and decency.

In the smoke that swirls up there are the ghosts of seasonal unpleasantness and the regrets of things done and not done, and there is a handshake, a hug, a laugh, even a kiss.  Today and tonight is wonderful.  Tomorrow will be even better….and longer. .

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