Tag Archives: Nuts

From the outside, it must have appeared picture-perfect.  My brothers and I in flannel pajamas knelt playing in front of a warm fire.  A record played Christmas carols in the background and our Christmas tree flickered merrily with lights.   The seasonal favorite, “Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire,” had been our inspiration.  And my mother, wanting our first taste of chestnuts to be authentic, had ignored the oven for the real deal: our happily blazing fire.  Playing the role of domestic goddess beautifully, she had carefully arranged about 2 dozen chestnuts near the flames.

It wasn’t until the second loud pop that our scene of domestic bliss became something out of National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation.  Like popping popcorn, it began slow, but quickly accelerated.  Bits of hot chestnut shrapnel went hurtling across the room as the chestnuts began exploding in quick succession.  As our living room became a holiday battleground, my mother screamed for us all to seek cover. 
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