Way back in the 1960s I was living in a house in the Ivywild area of Colorado Springs.
Back in those days families were allowed to burn paper trash and yard leaves in a backyard incinerator. The above illustration is one I drew from memory of the incinerator at our house. This was a purplish-color clay structure. One built a fire in the bottom and loaded the trash into the opening at the top. An air vent/smoke escape was at top rear.
When I was old enough, it fell to me to assume the chore of emptying and burning the household paper trash. This was great for a ten year old kid, because it amounted to sanctioned playing with matches and fire!
Anyway, one afternoon I went out to burn a load of trash. Just after loading the paper products, I bent down to light the fire when I noticed something colorful among the ashes at the bottom.
Upon closer scrutiny, it turned out to be one of my Tuareg toy soldiers. I plucked it out and noticed the presence of a couple more figures.
What??
It turned out my entire army of French Foreign Legion and Arab soldiers was there at the bottom of that incinerator!
I don't have an idea about why they were there, but I suspect that sometime during the week I had pissed off my mom or older sister, and the disposable of one of my favorite toy sets was my vengeful punishment. The insidious part is that I would have unknowingly been the designated executioner!
Nobody ever copped to this deed, and, to this very day it remains a mystery.
Needless to say, I pulled out all the trash, dug through the ashes, and retrieved every single one of those soldiers!
With my army completely rescued and safely moved to a shoebox in my bedroom, I returned outside and cheerily lit a fire in the ol' incinerator.
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