From the what-the-heck-were-they-thinking department comes a little story out of Midland Park. This story involves a Jersey guy, a gravelly stretch of his yard and a stubborn patch of snow and ice. Oh, and gasoline.

Lots of gasoline.

The man who is mercifully not being named by authorities was trying to get a stubborn patch of ice and snow cleared that was several square feet in size. He apparently gave up on traditional methods and went creative.

Authorities say he poured gasoline over that area and, yes, set it on fire. Wouldn’t you know some pesky neighbor had to ruin the party by calling the police around 7:30pm Friday reporting a strange, burning smell. An NJ.com article doesn’t make it clear how effective or ineffective the removal method was. But the main problem was the Bergen County Hazmat Unit had to be called out. Speedy Dry was employed to soak up the hazardous fuel.

Police Lieutenant John Gibbons was quoted by NJ.com saying, “I don’t recall ever being dispatched to something like that. It’s not very common, let’s put it that way.”

Or, as Dr. Evil once put it in an Austin Powers movie, “Why must I be surrounded by frickin’ idiots!?”

Now this story is near to my heart because my father-in-law once tried getting rid of dandelions with a torch. He thought it was a great success until the front lawn went up in flames. A good 150 square feet of grass went missing and for the longest time wouldn’t grow back. But hey! Neither did the dandelions!

The post above reflects the thoughts and observations of New Jersey 101.5 talk show host Jeff Deminski. Any opinions expressed are Jeff Deminski's own.

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