diff options
Diffstat (limited to 'src/md/10_Dynamite_and_the_Old_Snag.md')
| -rw-r--r-- | src/md/10_Dynamite_and_the_Old_Snag.md | 91 |
1 files changed, 0 insertions, 91 deletions
diff --git a/src/md/10_Dynamite_and_the_Old_Snag.md b/src/md/10_Dynamite_and_the_Old_Snag.md deleted file mode 100644 index 9b14ac5..0000000 --- a/src/md/10_Dynamite_and_the_Old_Snag.md +++ /dev/null @@ -1,91 +0,0 @@ ---- -title: Dynamite and the Old Snag ---- - -_I can't remember the precise time of this memory. My best guess is that -it happened during the Summer between one of my later high school years -or perhaps one Summer between university semesters at BYU._ - -Dad was developing a large parcel of land to break it up into smaller -lots for building homes. This often involved building a road through the -forest. Dad had a Caterpillar that could handle most of the forest -clearing and leveling that was necessary to create a good access road. -However, he occasionally came up against an obstacle that required -blasting with dynamite. He asked me to go with him to help out with the -blasting. I was all over that like "ugly on an ape". Anything that -involved blowing stuff up was high on my list of cool things to do. This -probably contributed to my later interest in pyrotechnics and "energetic -chemical reactions". - -On this occasion, the obstacle that was too big for the Caterpillar to -handle was a large "snag" pine tree. It was an ancient old beast that -was about 5 feet in diameter. The trunk was about 40 feet tall, but the -top of the tree was missing. It probably snapped off in a wind storm a -hundred years ago and had been rotting in its vertical position ever -since then. It was too rotten to attempt to fell like a normal tree. It -could easily break up and fall in an uncontrolled manner. Thus, the best -solution was to try to blast it with dynamite from a safe distance. - -The first step in the process is to open a hole under the stump with a -small charge. Dad cut one stick of dynamite in half for the job. He used -a special pair of plyers to crimp a blasting cap on a 2-foot piece of -fuse. Then he used the pointy end of the plyers to make a hole in the -end of the half stick of dynamite. He stuck the blasting cap in the hole -and Bob's your uncle. It looked like a large fire cracker. Then Dad used -a 6-foot heavy iron pry bar with a sharp end to make a small hole in the -ground just beneath a few of the big roots of the ancient tree stump. He -then placed the big fire cracker in the hole and lit the fuse. Dad -started walking casually away from the tree stump. This told me there -wasn't too much to be afraid of, but I had no idea how much power was -contained in a half stick of dynamite, so I booked it out of there in a -bit more of a hurry. - -The sound of the charge going off was more like a "thud" than a loud -boom like you see on the TV shows. It was kind of like a big T-Rex -stomped on the ground just to let you know who is the biggest "baddest" -dude in town. When we walked back to the old stump, sure enough, there -was a nice little cave under the stump. It was just right for placing in -it the big charge that would truly get the job done. - -This time Dad got out a five-gallon bucket and poured about 20 pounds of -ammonium nitrate fertilizer into it. These were the typical small beads -that looked about like tapioca before you add the water and cook it. -Then Dad poured about a gallon of diesel fuel into the bucket. After -stirring the goop with a big stick, he said that should do the trick. He -then prepared a small bundle of about5 sticks of dynamite that were -taped together to form a nice tight cylinder. He prepared a fuse with -another blasting cap crimped on the end and inserted it into a hole he -made in the side of one of the sticks. Finally, he poured the ammonium -nitrate goop down the hole under the stump and carefully shoved the -bundle of dynamite as far into the hole as he could reach. - -This time the fuse was about 6 feet long to give us plenty of time to -make some distance between us and the stump after lighting the fuse. I -remember running with Dad about 50 yards away where we stood behind the -truck and watched the fuse burn. It was just like in the old movies -where the fuse made lots of sparks and smoke as it burned. It seemed -like we watched the fuse burn for about 5 minutes, but it was probably -only about 20 seconds. The excitement and anticipation were thrilling to -a young guy like me who had never seen a real dynamite explosion before. - -This time, the sound was much more impressive. It was a big ka-whump -that shook the ground and filled the air with a big cloud of dust. Rocks -and chunks of rotten wood were thrown into the air about 80 feet high. -We had to keep our eyes looking in the air for a while to make sure none -of those big rocks were going to make it all the way over to where we -were standing. It took at least a few minutes for the dust to settle -enough for us to see what had happened. When the dust finally cleared -Dad started to laugh. The big old stump was still standing, but now it -was only about 8 inches in diameter. Apparently, the charge had blown -away all the rotten wood, but there was a solid core of wood that was -strong enough to resist the blast. - -It just goes to show ya that when it comes to people and old stumps, you -just can't tell what's really inside by looking at what's on the -outside. We had no idea that that old stump had a solid core of wood -inside that was strong enough to survive a sizeable blast of explosives. -And just like that ugly old stump, the funny-looking kid next door could -have a heart of gold when you really get to know him. The moral of the -story is... don't trust your eyes when it comes to judging a stump or a -person's character. The skill of "looking upon the heart" takes a lot -more effort than a mere glance with our mortal eyes. |