I think it’s this kind of knuckleheaded flag-waving jingoism that causes the problem dropzone was complaining about in the first place…
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Jingoism? lol Did you say that because I used the word “commie?” I like the word “commie” its a good general insult for anything illogical and/or stupid. In this case the actual definition also applies.
You have to admit those laws are stupid. It is just like outlawing candles because some people burn down thier houses. Or banning swimming pools becaue kids can drown in them. Or banning steros because dumbasses play them too loud at night. It is wrong to outlaw things just because some people can’t use them responsibly.
Of course there should be a few regulations, like “don’t shoot them at people, animals, buildings, or cars.” and “dont use on public property.” Maybe requiring a one-time safety procedures test to be able to buy fire works would be acceptable, as long as it costs $10 or less.
Of course, what dropzone complained is probably already illegal. Disturbing the peace of something similar.
Well, that explains EVERYTHING !!! <Beaming> You see, that was me gently knocking on your door for a while. I’d popped by with some Ridge Vineyards Chardonnay ( the 89, not the tawdry and barely-cooking-quality 90, of course ), a nice fresh baked brie wheel and hand made French bread. Also, some roasted garlic still in the roaster, and a pristine digital transfer done by my pal Fillipe of Abel Gance’s Napoleon.
Woulda been quite the evening. Pity. However, you never answered my knocks since you had your A.C. turned to the LOUD setting, instead of the *Sotto Vocce * setting. I ate the brie and garlic, downed some of the wine and inadvertently puked on the videotape.
Heh… My friends tend to be the ones setting off the loud fireworks around here (Though, not this year, for some reason). They usually stop around 10 or so, though, and are pretty safe about it, except for one occurance of firing bottle-rockets -horizontally- down the street… We stopped when one of them lifted off the ground, arced, and popped against a house. That was enough to tell us that we shouldn’t do that
But no, the -really- bad ones seemed to always be the parents. The “best” one I can remember was my friend’s mom’s boyfriend. After we’d just finished lighting off our last firework, he decided to compete with the noise… By grabbing a Ruger 10/22, loading a full 50 round magazine, and coming out to fire all 50 rounds up into the air. I’m glad he didn’t try that one year later, though, we probably would have killed him :mad:
The place: Prague, Czech Republic
The date: December 31, 1999. Millennium Eve.
My wife, a few friends and myself had hied ourselves off to scenic Prague for a bit of New Year’s festivities, and upon arrival headed off to the town center to see what was happening.
Unsurprisingly, the streets were chock full of revelers in funny hats and various states of inebriation. We had been warned ahead of time that it was traditional in Prague to set off firecrackers – BIG ones – at New Year’s, especially under the feet of unsuspecting passersby, and we managed to keep sufficiently alert and nimble to avoid getting our heels blown off.
No one had bothered to warn us, however, that once it got dark we could expect other forms of pyrotechnics, and so it was with not a little consternation that the four of us found ourselves in the midst of several groups of people setting off bottle rockets and Roman candles. In the middle of a crowded city square. Horizontally.
At which point we legged it for the nearest Metro station and watched the midnight celebrations on television from the safety of our hotel room. Call me a coward if you must, but after the first of several Roman candles went by at knee level I decided that discretion was the better part of continued survival…
I don’t mind the fireworks (except at 3 am) but the shooting into the air is particularly ignorant. Not only does it make the 4th look like Saddam Hussein’s birthday party, but everybody seems to forget that these bullets eventually COME DOWN. How would you like to be the poor schlub a few miles away who gets shot while walking down the street. In our town a few years ago, a girl was shot in her backyard and it was a mystery for the longest time. The cops eventually traced it to a guy who lived seven blocks away who had been shooting his M-16 in the air. They were able to match the bullet with the gun and he was charged with manslaughter and reckless endangerment. He ended up going to jail. He was caught because the cops put two and two together after receiving numerous complaints about him from his neighbors.
I and 50,000 other people once saw the cruel duality of illegal fireworks displayed in all its glory.
It was the late '80s, on or about the 4th of July at RFK Stadium in DC. The Dead had just broken into “Space”, and the LSD- (real LSD, you whippersnappers) addled crowd was agitating themselves into a feverish psychedelic pitch.
Suddenly, from the top rows of the third tier erupted an enormous, glorious green streamer, firing in a shallow arc directly across the stadium, leaving a sparkling trailer at least twenty yards long. For an instant, the entire crowd was bathed in green light. Then, the top tier of the stadium on the opposite side. Then, one section. Then, a few rows. Then, one poor bastard, stitting transfixed. From the playing field below I could see that he was wearing glasses. They glowed bright green the instant before he was hit head on by the blazing green comet.
The entire crowd was watching the spectacle:
“yyyyyeeeeeaaaaaaAAAAAAHHHHHH! …boooOOOOOOOOOOO!”
It’s all fun and games until someone tripping on acid gets hit for real by a giant green fireball, man. Words to live by.
However, you never answered my knocks since you had your A.C. turned to the LOUD setting, instead of the *Sotto Vocce * setting. I ate the brie and garlic, downed some of the wine and inadvertently puked on the videotape.
