The Mason Jar: Fires and Captain America

Do you recall any special event which took place in your neighborhood while you were growing up  (i.e. deaths, fires, accidents, excitement, etc.)?

Most people would probably think that growing up in the middle of nowhere Idaho would be boring, dull, and never exciting. That might be true in some areas, but it was definitely not the case where I grew up. Our neighborhood, where the nearest neighbor was grandparents a half of mile away, was full of exciting moments and people. Several of these exciting moments were caused by wildfires and by a man I'll call Captain America. 

Almost every summer there was a major fire in our valley. My family has several stories about these fires. My personal favorite is about my brother W. There was a fire that was getting threateningly close to my family's home. Friends and neighbors came to help my family evacuate. While the adults were busy with evacuation activities, the kids were playing. One adult, going into the kitchen, found W making peanut butter sandwiches for everyone like a good host would when friends come to visit. There are many fire stories that include frantic driving down the road, through fields, through fences, and police barricades. I always have hated fire season, and fires still scare me and make me nervous. Fire season is always exciting, but never quite as exciting as the man we call Captain America. 

I've never met our Captain America, but he is famous in our little community. I'm told he is a really nice guy so long as he is taking his meds, but when he gets off of his meds things start to get a little crazy. The reason we call him Captain America is because of one of those times. One night he was pulled over for driving 100 miles an hour down the highway.... with wooden wings bolted to his truck....wearing red handle underwear....with a Captain America emblem on his chest. That same year he stole a plane from a neighboring town and flew back to our town. He was clipping power lines with the wings of the plane, turning sideways and flying between buildings, and throwing "pipe bombs" out of the plane. Luckily, his bomb making skills were not as amazing as his flying skills. The nearest air force base had to send a couple of their pilots to force our Captain America to land. Yep, that was an exciting day. 

These aren't the only exciting stories from my neighborhood. We've had shootings, exploding fuel tanks, a hired hit man, and the SWAT team. So to all of those people who say middle of nowhere Idaho is boring....you've obviously never been to my hometown.