Fireworks- A Ban Wouldn't Kill Me

I hate fireworks.  Oh, don't get me wrong.  I love the displays where professionals take care of them.  I've just never been crazy about the fireworks you buy at local stands and shoot off yourself.

It started when I was a kid.  I remember being in a cemetery, and Dad telling me about a relative who died in the early part of the last century because fireworks went off in his pocket.  The wound became infected, and he died.  He's buried in the same cemetery as my mom, so I always walk over to see young Frank, Walter, or George's grave.  (I can never remember his name, until I see the stone.)

Then I remember shooting fireworks at my grandparents.  Granddad was probably in his late 60's, sitting on the ground with his firecrackers between his legs.  He was lighting and throwing like the kids, and then a spark fell into his fireworks box.  You've never seen a man his age scramble up a hill on his rear as fast as Granddad did.  And, his entire box went up in a nice little display. Scared me to death, and thank heavens he could move fast.

Little Big Brother, the Judge, was the main reason I hated fireworks.  LBB is left handed.  (I think that explains a lot.) Every year, he would light the firecracker and throw the punk.  (Well, it seemed like every year.)  He would spend the rest of the evening with his burned hand in a glass of iced tea.  I know it happened more than once or twice.  You'd think he would have learned and put away the firecrackers for good.  But no.  LBB loves fire.  He's a bit of a pyromaniac.  I used to cry when Mom would send me out to burn trash with him.  It was an hour long job, complete with his holding liquid soap bottles on sticks to watch them melt. He also loved tossing light bulbs or aerosol cans into the barrel, and we'd have to run for our lives.  (Yes, please don't contact me about how dangerous this is to the environment.  It was the 60's.  We didn't know then. He was easily entertained. Now we know.  It is horrible to the environment, to say nothing about how dangerous this was to our safety. I'm pretty sure he told mom it was an "accident" that they ended up in the fire.) He couldn't/can't resist fire, so every year--burned fingers in a glass of iced tea.  *sigh*  

The best thing about the 4th of July to me was that we had soda pop.  Forget the firecrackers, we had soda!!! (New Years and 4th of July--that was the only time we had soda pop.) Mom would bring home a case of Pepsi, Orange Crush, and Grape soda in glass bottles.  It was quite exciting.  That case would usually last a week or more.  Sometimes, there were ice cream floats.  I'd still take soda over firecrackers every day of the week!

When the girls came along, I relented to letting them shoot fireworks.  L was a lot like me.  I have one whole roll of 4th of July pictures where she has her fingers in her ears.  I totally identified.  Sparklers, snakes, snappers-- all perfectly OK with me.  Firecrackers?  Nope, I could have done without them.

Thankfully, neither of the girls are crazy about fireworks either.  They went through a phase of using firecrackers to blow up bugs with the neighbor boys, but they never asked for many fireworks and were content to watch their friends shoot their fireworks.  The Mr. would buy Roman Candles and Fountain displays, but that was about it. If firework stands depended on us for profit, they'd be hurting.

I love the 4th of July.  Bring on the flags, brass bands playing Sousa marches, and fireworks displays.  I like the picnics with ice cream, watermelon, and swimming.  Firecrackers?  Still not a fan.  Probably never will be.

Happy 4th of July!  (And if you love firecrackers, feel free to shoot my share.)