It’s that time of year again. Over the next couple of weeks several good United States citizens will lose a limb and some a life in the search for the Big Bang. Homes will burn to the ground. Wildfires will erupt. Cars will be destroyed.
There be terrified pets and sleep interrupted. Some places will sound like a war zone. Cranky old men such as myself will be made crankier. Our neighbors have already started. Grr…
I admit I liked fireworks… when I was five. But it has always been lost on me what thrill adults get blowing things up. What am I missing?
I enjoy a good fireworks show with all the pretty lights. But as a child, I couldn’t bring myself to spend what small amount of cash I had on fireworks. As much as I enjoyed blowing stuff up, the thrill was just too emphemeral for me to drop down cold, hard cash.
I have to admit, it does seem like the quality of fireworks available to the general public has improved considerably since I was a wee lad. There are people in my neighborhood firing stuff into the air that bursts like they do at a professional show. Not as grand of course, but I don’t remember anyone in any neighborhood I lived in as a child having those kind of fireworks.
I don’t mind people setting of fireworks on the 4th. I’m not into it, but I can live with it. I do get tired of hearing them in the weeks leading up to and afterward though.
I’m close enough to Fort Carson with it’s armored brigades and combat aviation that this time of year just means a few more boombooms. Neighborhood chats get “what are all those explosions and gunshots and I didn’t know this house was in Gaza WTF?!!?” every few weeks, until other residents point out the Army base on the other side of the highway and question the intelligence of the asker to never see the “Fort Carson Entrance” right freaking there.
Normally I’m not huge on fireworks - I like watchin’ 'em, but spending my own money on booms is a step too far. But this year, my niece is doing a fundraiser at a fireworks tent, so I’ll pick some up to show support. Scarlett will go stay with family in her thundervest while Vaya sits outside and watches me (and maybe the fireworks a bit).
I’m actually looking forward to this Fourth of July. The family who has been our next-door neighbors for nearly thirty years just recently moved. They were generally good neighbors, except every 7/4 when all their friends and relatives would come out of the woodwork and they would blow up a half ton of fireworks in their driveway and the street all night and then never clean up their mess afterwards. And it didn’t seem to matter to these “law and order Republicans” that the city passed a fireworks ban a dozen or so years ago.
We are about three blocks from the city limits so I expect to hear some booms off in the distance from people shooting stuff off out in the county, but hopefully I don’t have to listen to it coming from right next door anymore.
In South Oak Cliff, it’s not really the fireworks that bug me. The folks shooting off fully automatic weapons in the air? That worries me a lot more. I’ve heard a few fall nearby when I was out smoking on the patio.
Hah, and the eclipse! There were folks shooting off fireworks and guns during it this year.
You’re missing the fact that some people get big and tall and get jobs and stuff, but are still mentally about five. Or maybe even as mature as ten.
I’ve ranted about this (probably more than once) in the rants thread in the Pit. This insanity happens a few days earlier in Canada and I’m glad it’s now behind us. There was a lot of it on Sunday and it was a goddam war zone on Canada Day, July 1, but that was the end of it, thank the Lord. I’m tempted to write a letter to our Premier suggesting that fireworks should be banned altogether except for officially recognized organizations doing public fireworks displays. Within neighbourhoods, it’s a goddam nuisance.
Occasional poster @ParallelLines reported a quite serious injury to right inner thigh, when said poster attempted to calm their Bengal Cat who was twitchy and panicky due to high volume of loud bangs and pops. An at-scene witness describes it as a pair of three inch long scratches on the inner thigh despite a pair of boxer briefs and denim shorts. Much cursing ensued, with most of them being directed at crazed firework lovers rather than the cat, which, to it’s credit looked somewhat ashamed rather than smug.
Seriously though, at least it’s been better than past years, with fewer pops prior to the day of, but I fully expect many pops until the weekend is over. And those scratches are going to itch like HELL and be awkward to scratch.
I’d be all in favor of a painfully high federal excise tax on fireworks. The grass fires, terrified animals, struggling veterans, and those just trying to get a decent night’s sleep don’t seem to bother the idiots setting off fireworks. Maybe hitting them in the pocketbook would help.
One nice thing about the current Premier of Ontario is that he prides himself on being accessible and listening to his constituents. So I sent him a message tonight suggesting that he consider licensing fireworks to only legitimate organizations conducting public fireworks displays, and not allow them to be sold to random yokels (my actual phrase was “irresponsible and inconsiderate individuals”).
I doubt I’ll even get a response (other than the automated one I just got about how deeply they appreciated my message ), but hey, I do what I can. Maybe this will eventually filter though into someone’s consciousness. After all, firecrackers were banned here a long time ago.
), but hey, I do what I can. Maybe this will eventually filter though into someone’s consciousness. After all, firecrackers were banned here a long time ago.