Fire Fingers (Passion Pit - Take A Walk)

Passion Pit - Take A Walk

Occasionally, some of my Baltimore friends talk about visiting Harrisburg because of how highly I speak of it. A few folks have actually made the visit - they have lovely Instagram photos to prove it - but then when I ask about their trip, they hesitate with their criticism at first. They don't want me to feel bad, they don't want to criticize a place so special to me. They usually talk about how Harrisburg was pretty, and eventually they will mention how it was also pretty boring, and they didn't know how to entertain themselves for a weekend, not to mention how I did it for for years.

I get that criticism, sort of, because I think Baltimore is similar. If you made the decision to visit Baltimore, and you weren't visiting any particular friends, where exactly would you go? If you googled "Things To Do In Baltimore", you'll get the Inner Harbor, which is fine and boring, but nobody who lives in Baltimore actually goes to the Inner Harbor. We go to great bars and music venues and museums, but Google won't immediately tell you that (although that might change in light of the recent New York Times spread).

Harrisburg is sort of the same way. It's a city of fewer than 50,000 people, and as the state capital, its main tourist attractions are political ones. The capitol building is imposing and stunning, and the river views are gorgeous regardless of season, but that can't fully sustain a weekend getaway, let alone a five-year grounding. While Baltimore is different simply because it has many more options for you once you've infiltrated, both cities are worthwhile because of the people who live there and the fun that is created once you know them.

For example, there was a time when my friends intentionally set their fingers on fire as part of a drinking game. Actually, this happened many times, and it the game goes like this: a group of people forms a circle, puts a little bit of Sambuca on their pointer finger and a little bit of Sambuca in a cup in front of them. Someone then lights their Sambuca finger on fire, passes the flame to the person next to them onto their Sambuca finger, and once the fire has spread to the next person's finger, you exterminate your own flaming Sambuca finger by putting it in your mouth. You have to quickly dip your finger back in Sambuca, because it won't be long before the flame comes back around the circle and you need to be ready in case your friend's finger falls off, or even worse, in case you ruin the game.

It is amazing to me that these people are all still alive.

Because my soft piano fingers were not made for this activity, I opted out of participating. Instead, I'd film the whole thing, The first time I filmed this, Passion Pit's "Take A Walk" played in the background, and every now and then, I go back and watch these videos and hear the song soundtracking this bizarre thing. I don't even really like the song, but whenever I happen to hear the song, I remember the flame, circling around my dining room table.

Listen below.