Why Did we Do That!!!

It was a hot July day,my brothers Kip,Kay and I were blowing up firecrackers.
I think we were about 10 or 11 years old than,give or take a day or so...........(can't remember)..
We tried about everything with firecrackers,the water bucket with cans,ant piles,mud,we did it all.
We were taking a break from it all,than a idea came into our heads.
What about making a cannon.............
First things first,the gunpowder.We spend three days gathering firecracker duds and buying firecrackers(by selling empty pop bottles and scrap copper)...We stripped the firecrackers apart to remove the gunpowder and put the powder into baby food jars.
Finally the 3rd day and two jar's full of gunpowder,we starting looking for something to make the cannon with.
Dad had some scrap iron around the yard,so we found a piece of pipe that suited the job.
It was about 5 feet long and 1 1/4 inch in diameter.We made a plug for it,pushed it into the pipe about four inches,(that would keep the powder from leaking out the back of the pipe).
We filled the pipe up with the gunpowder,than plugged the front of the pipe with clay,made a small hole into the clay for the fuse.
The fuse was made from six fuses from six firecrackers,we tightly coiled them together for a sure fit.
Now the cannon was made and ready to fire! The question now,Who was going to hold the cannon.
When and where were we going to do this at......
The night time sounded good(it always did)....But what place???
We finally decided on a old car Dad had in the yard.A old 1954 chevy,no hood,no engine in the compartment.
Perfect as we called it,everything falling into our plan......
Now the other question "WHO"???? Can't remember how or why,but Kip was the chosen one.
We waited till dusk(seemed like the day took forever)...
Finally,night was falling upon us.Dark skies,perfectly still night...........
We gathered all our gear and walked towards the old car.Our thoughts going into every direction!!!
Kip crawls into the engine compartment of the old chevy.Grabs the pipe cannon.
Kay and I ask Kip,"are you sure you want to do this"?Kip said,"Lets do it"!
He shouldered the cannon,got into position.We lit the match to the fuse and ran away,far enough to stay out of danger(Funny thought huh)!
Kay and I could see the glow of the lit fuse,it seemed like eternity for all else to happen!!!
Than BOOM!!!!!! The cannon went off!!!!!
It was like bright daylight in the engine compartment!We could see Kips eyes,they were as big as silver dollars!
Than as fast as the light came,it was total dark again.A dead silence........
Dad comes running out of the house yelling"What the hell is going on now"???
We told him,just shooting off firecrackers.He went stomping back into the house!
Kay and I than ran over the old chevy car to check on Kip!He was still holding the pipe cannon on his shoulder and looking straight ahead.
Finally noticing that we were there,he looks at us and said"HOLY CRAP"!!!!
We grabbed the pipe cannon,got Kip out of the engine compartment of the car.
We looked the pipe over,it was split two inches down from the end that got blasted!Ripped really good!
Kip's ears were bleeding under the earlobes,and couldn't hear very well for a week or so!
Lesson learned,to never do that again!
To this day,45+ years down the road,we remember that very day as if it was yesterday.
Was it dangerous-yes!
Did we laugh-yes!
Boys will be boys!!!!!!!