Let's be honest with each other shall we? A visit to any old cabin in the mountains should be a calming or at least a relaxing experience but the Brothers Powell weren't about to visit just any old cabin. John and Brian were on there way to spend a portion of their summer at the cabin of Walt Mullins.
Walt having white, feathered hair like the swans that swam nearby in the river, was a strong man. Although some would say a man his age should be taking it easy and preparing for the next world Walt wouldn't hear of it. This short, yet ironically, giant of a man had the tenacity, fire and stubbornness of an eighteen year old. At the age of 80 he could still wrestle a bear, catch a 300 pound salmon and shoot three pheasant out of the sky all at the same time. Never was a man more at home than Walt was, here in the mountains of Idaho, at his cabin.
The cabin, situated comfortably on the Buffalo River, was made from the blood, sweat and tears of Walt. Ok honestly is was made of braun and steel just like Walt. Men of his age were always made of these materials. Ok but even MORE honestly, the cabin was made of wood which woodpeckers loved to shoot away at with their beaks. Walt in turn loved to shoot away at the woodpeckers with his trusty 12 gauge. Brian loved to see the orange feathers of the poor peckers plume as Walt shot them.
Brian always loved to visit the cabin as he was a bit more like Walt than his older brother John. John on the other hand felt he was always the bud of Walt's schemes which may not have been too far from the truth. Walt was a practical joker after all.
On one particular occasion Walt asked John, Brian and their cousin Michael to take care of a pile of wood by igniting it with gasoline and watching it burn. The boys, being pyro-maniacs, were thrilled by the prospect of playing with gasoline and fire! Walt explained to John he would need to pour the entire 5 gallon drum on the wood and then throw a match on it. As Michael and John poured the gasoline Walt leaned over to Brian while stepping back a bit and whispered, with a hint of the devil in his voice, "Watch this!"
John lit his small, wooden match, smiled excitedly at Michael as Michael exclaimed, "Do it!" John, following instructions from his younger cousin, threw the match ... The events that follow happened so fast that describing in a narrative, with accuracy, the hilarity that would ensue is quite tricky ... John's hair was blown back as he looked over with a blackened face to see Michael's shoes stuck in the remaining snow of the previous winter yet, there was no Michael. John then realizing what had happened began to look frantically around for Michael. In the distance John could see two white socks at the top of a small hill which belonged to the rest of Michael and ... a bit further in the distance Walt and Brian bent over laughing. Michael flew for nearly three seconds and about forty feet that day.
