Author Chuck Wendig asked: What’s something totally stupid and/or dangerous you did as a kid?
When I was in fifth grade – what is that, ten, eleven years old? – one of the kids in our town with a less than shining reputation set fire to our school. It was a solid three-story brick building with granite stairways and hardwood floors; I’d guess it was built in maybe the 30s or 40s. The fire department responded quickly enough to put out the blaze before it gutted the building, leaving behind a wreck that was never used again and eventually torn down, BUT before they did that, I went exploring with my friends. We climbed stairs strewn with nails all the way to the top floor where most of the damage was. We crossed sagging floors that should have collapsed to send us plunging to certain death, or at least permanent disfigurement. I don’t know how we didn’t at least get tetanus from poking through all the broken equipment in the science lab. I’ve done other things that came close to being that dumb, but that was probably the dumbest I’ve ever been.