Has anyone else noticed now calm and benign today’s Fourth of July celebrations are from those of years past? It seems rather ironic to me that we are celebrating our hard-won freedom from England and King George III by being as quiet as possible on this day.
In a year not so distant, the government stepped in and declared that fireworks were too dangerous for the average person to handle safely and decreed that only a qualified pyrotechnician should be able to understand the concept of setting fire to the end of a fuse.
I agree that some people would probably have a bit of trouble grasping this match-to-fuse idea, but the average person should be able do this with their eyes closed, which is not really the smart way of playing with fireworks.
We used to set off all kinds of dangerous fireworks right there on our driveway. The cracking explosions of firecrackers echoed the blasting of the war guns and the “Rocket’s Red Glare” copied by a giant display of our own aerial fireworks. The smell of burnt powder filled the air and the kids stood wide-eyed watching the marvel of up-close explosions.
It was a great feeling, one that I hadn’t fully appreciate until it was taken away.
Back in the time (this was an accepted form of speech, back in the time), the government didn’t care if you had brains enough to pour piss out of a boot, if you had a gun, it wanted you in the War of Independence. The war was also very dangerous, but a lot of people managed to live through it and came out the other end with this newly-found freedom in their hands.
Even though these pyrotechnic displays are beautiful and awe-inspiring, they are not the same as popping off a few explosions of your own in front of your house. The kids running around the yard writing their names in the air with sparklers, ignoring the pleas of the adults to be careful.
Even with all the government’s protection, I somehow feel less independent now than ever before.
The California Curmudgeon
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