If anything’s better than a kid’s first s’more, I don’t know what. Maybe a first kiss or that other “first time,” but probably not.
There’s the ambiance. Authenticity matters. You need a campfire. One with face-finding smoke that moves independent of the wind and only toward you.
S’mores tell you everything by how someone roasts their marshmallow.
There’s the patient baker,
the careless burner,
and then the full-on blazer.
That's the guy (and usually it’s a guy) that instantly nukes his mallow into a blazing torch of radioactive gooey hotness sealed by the blackest volcanic ash.
Smoky the Bear keeps an eye on this guy.
Our COVID-lives could use s’more s’mores. They’re the perfect, socially distant treat to bring us all together.
Everyone loves ‘em.
I mean everyone.
People fall in two groups: there’s s’more-lovers and s’more-eaters, and all s’more-eaters are s’more-lovers.
Here’s my strategy for a national campaign: “Just Say Yes to S’mores.”
Treat everyone as you’d like to be treated…to a s’more.
If they’re upset, give them a s’more.
If they’re happy, they must have had a s’more, so it’s time for seconds.
Call it the Golden-Brown Rule.
It might just bind America back together, and someday, we’ll look back and think, “four s’mores and seven secondsies ago,” that’s when we forgot our anger and remembered, deep down, we’re all just people, people with melted marshmallow and liquid chocolate in our veins.
Be good.
Be well.
Be sure to call your mom (and don’t forget dad).
Until next week, no matter what, climb on.
Peak Perspectives is a weekly segment written and voiced by Matt Cavanaugh, a lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Army and a resident of Manitou Springs where he lives with his wife and two young children. Through his writing, Cavanuagh explores life in the Pikes Peak region, including the gradients and subtleties of our lives in the shadow of America's Mountain.
You can find more work by Cavanaugh here.
KRCC's Abigail Beckman manages the "Peak Perspectives" series. The opinions expressed in this publication are those of the authors. They do not purport to reflect the opinions or views of KRCC or Colorado Public Radio.
