Spark Some Romance With Natural Gas Fireplaces

Wow - natural gas fireplaces that look good and are easy to use.

I love campfires. I think everyone loves them. Except when you get smoke in your eyes. Except when you get splinters in your fingers from the firewood. Except when the fire's low and there's no more wood.

I often wonder if natural gas fireplaces are the no-fuss version of a campfire. After all, you just press a button and you have a fire to warm your hands by. Press the button again and the fire goes out. There's no wood to collect or store. But then I often wonder if we lose some of the magic of the campfire by using a natural gas fireplace.

We know that a campfire is the ancient symbol of a gathering place. Our ancestors would gather round a campfire, ready to hear a tribal elder tell a story that made them feel like a part of the tribe. The flickering light and warmth of the fire would have a hypnotic effect, increasing their feelings of security and calm.

Later on, the indoor wood-burning fireplace became the new symbol of the gathering place later on in history. Our more recent ancestors would gather around the wood-burning fireplace after the evening meal, to hear the radio tell stories that made them feel like a part of the tribe. The flickering light and warmth of the fire would have a hypnotic effect, increasing their feelings of security and calm.

Today, we also have have natural gas fireplaces in our home. We can gather round our natural gas fireplaces and have our plasma TV and DVD player tell us stories that make us feel part of the tribe. The flickering light and warmth of the fire has a hypnotic effect, increasing our feelings of security and calm.

Except for the fact that this time, it's all push-button easy. There's no firewood to collect. There's no termites to dispose of. There's no coals to stoke. Just push a button, and your fire is on.

But does all this convenience mean that we've lost the romance of the wood-burning fireplace? I don't think so. A wood fire sounds nice, until you find yourself stumbling about, trying to light a fire while your date watches with silent frustration. There's nothing romantic about running out of wood in the middle of a date. It's the fire I want, not the smoke. It's the fire I want, not the kindling. It's the satisfactory end to my date I want, not splinters.