Hot Mellons for the Firemen

Brush fires are endemic
To the Southern California foothills,
Especially after the summer heat
Has dried up the wild brush and weeds
Turning the hillsides from green to brown.
When the Santa Ana winds start blowing
Conditions are ripe for a fire to take hold
And they get out of hand pretty quick.
Sometimes they are given a helping hand
By arsonists, or children playing with fire.
On one nearby monstrous fire
A number of years back,
They had firefighters
From all around the United States
Battling the flames.
Tens of thousands of acres
Of forest land had gone up in smoke
And ashes had been raining down
Around our house for days.
The news broadcast told of how weary
Those fire fighters were becoming.
It was hot, dirty, arduous work
And the fire kept getting the upper hand.
Surely I could do something
To help quench their thirst
And give them a break from their toil,
So I came up with a brilliant idea.
I would buy a truckload
Of juicy cold watermelons
And take them up
To those guys on the line.
I borrowed a pickup truck for the task
But fortunately delayed buying the melons
Until the next day.
Early the following morning
The newspaper headlines announced
That local watermelons
Were contaminated with insecticide
That could make people sick,
Thus they were all being destroyed.
Imagine what could have happened
Had I done what I intended
And ended up getting
A bunch of fireman sick.
Maybe the only lesson in all this
Is to beware of the good Samaritan
Especially if it is me!