Chapter 14 The Days of Firewood

In their childhood years,Fabian's family had no idea what was gas or know how to apply them for cooking.Those were the days when electricity was mean for lighting only.For cooking they had to make used of firewood or charcoal.


Normally firewood were collected from the surroundings.Dry branches of trees and fallen coconut leaves.Should there be in sufficient then rubber wood were purchased for the cooking.These rubber wood usually came in big blocks and had to re-chopped into smaller pieces.

Usually the breaking down to smaller pieces had to be given out to professional choppers.These choppers had the necessary tools to break down the huge blocks of rubber wood.It can be done locally by themselves should they had the tools and brute strength to accomplish the job fast enough.If so it will take days to split up a small pile of wood.

The chopped pieces cannot be used immediately as most were still wet and had to be dried.To hasten its drying the chopped pieces had to be stacked in such a way that it dry faster.Fabian being the elder boy had to stack those wood.

The stacking were actually to place all cut up pieces in a square and there stacked upwards,thus allowing air to run through to all the wood and also sun dried.The stack should not be very high as Fabian could only reached a height slightly higher than him.Therefore he had to make a few stacks.

It was not a difficult task yet it had to be done.Fabian did it very unwillingly but what to do he had to do it.Well he performed the chore slowly singing as he does his job.Francis will be standing by the side and made funny gestures at him.Getting agitated he will threw a piece of wood at him,glazing Francis one wee bit.

The wood glazed Francis and slightly hurt he cried,"You naughty boy,you throw wood at me".
Grandmother on hearing Francis crying will come along with a cane.
"Please do not cane me",begged Fabian,"He was disturbing me that was why I threw the wood at him.
"You do that again and I would not you go without a caning".
Fabian shaking his backside behind the grandmother as she turned away from him,smiled and making very good sign at Francis.
"Look,grandmother,he is making fun at you".
As the grandma turned around Fabian shouted,"I was only dancing".Was he dancing?

Yeah,those were the days.

It took several days of drying before the dried wood will be collected and stored under a shed.,especially built for it.But the days of using firewood to cook were limited before long gas were introduced to replace firewood.