Fourth of July Memories

I like fireworks as much as the next guy. As a kid, I shot off bottle rockets, waved sparklers around in the air, lit the little round pellets to watch little black snakes of ash emerge from the smoke, and even if it wasn't July, I was known to buy caps and set them off with a hammer on the sidewalk. (I loved the smell of gunpowder, and the noise was gravy on the biscuits.) When dad – or the neighbors – got ready to set off a small supply of roman candles and fountains, I was happy to sit on the ground and watch the pretty colors.

I was a kid. Fireworks happened once a year, so such a display was exciting, an experience I certainly didn't have every day. I don't remember having that experience before the age of 8, but my memory has been developing holes lately.

Since then, it seems like fireworks have become an everyday thing. Sure, they're sold on every street corner just before the 4^th of July, but they're also set off at every theme park. I've heard of them being lit after a night game, at wedding receptions, parties... They aren't a rare experience anymore.

For the past week, the neighbors up and down the street have been setting them off. I could hear them in the morning when I got up, and they continued long past dark. I can't imagine the noisy fireworks are as much fun during the day as they are after dark when you can clearly see the colors, but they shoot them off anyway. How much did the neighbors spend on fireworks this year?

And when are they going to stop? The dog has been hiding under my chair all week.