4th of July Folly

I love the days preceding the 4th of July.  They are always filled with anticipation of what's to come.  Not like Christmas or Easter, not that good, but I find myself getting excited over picking out red/white/blue-colored clothing, flag plates, watermelon and of course, a few minor fireworks.  I like listening to country music (because everyone knows with Toby Keith, you'll get patriotic music and definitely some Lee Greenwood's Proud to be An American) and watching ESPN specials with military parents surprising their children at sporting events.  (I cried like a baby.)

There is just something special about the occasion which is why when we can't be with our Nebraska Ward family celebrating in Seward's 4th of July city, or with the Buehring family celebrating in Oklahoma country with hundreds of dollars worth of our own legal fireworks, then we do the next best thing -- we call up some friends and have a party.

2 old guys and 8 kids watching the firework intently. 

This year we had 4 families with kids ranging from ages 2 to 9-years-old which means a whole lot of excited screaming as we took a risk and shot off our own very small fireworks.  We have always gone out to the firework stand and bought sparklers, firecrackers, snakes, smoke bombs, parachutes, and other small zippy things that barely fly in the air, but are still a lot of fun for kids.  I never worried about the fire ban or the city limits and the whole No Fireworks thing.  I mean, have you seen a sparkler?  I can give my kid a lighter and the same amount of fire is given off.  To be clear, I wouldn't just give my kid a lighter and say go crazy; I would parent and supervise, just like the sparklers.  Certainly the city law doesn't ban America's #1 firework.

Well folks, I'm here to tell you that, yes, yes it does. Luckily though, our crew got our small bag of fireworks out of the way before another, much more risky family across the street at the park, with really big, "Look at Me, Up in the Sky" fireworks that put our itty bitty show to shame got started.  When the police car drove up and confiscated the Big Fireworks of that risky family, we were quick to push broom our mass of blown paper and lit wicks away.  Most of us stayed outside to watch all the action and were a bit surprised when that same policemen came to our little crew of kids and asked if we were the group who had the sparklers.  When we told them, yes we were but are finished now, we were given a sharp reminder that they are also ILLEGAL.  So very sad.  And equally difficult to explain to your children that you were breaking the law.

We were lucky, I guess, for not being fined or something more severe, but on a holiday that celebrates our freedom from so many things, I felt a bit let down.  Yes, I know, it's about safety and regulations and blah, blah, blah. I"m not going to start arguing the safety of seat belts or helmets, but I would like to give my kid a sparkler on Independence Day without feeling guilty about it.

It did give us a story to tell, even though it made us look a bit foolish.  I'll re-tell any good story.  And since we did get to set off our fireworks and we did have a crew of kids who had the time of their life and we did have an awesome table of food to eat and we did have some great conversations, I think we did alright.

Just remind me next year when I'm off to the mom and pop firework stand, that I have to get far, far away because I want to celebrate with a Black Cat or a Cherry Bomb or an M80 (Kenny gave me all of those names, I didn't actually know them.  I just know they are more powerful than a roman candle.)

Or if I"m really devious and feeling illegal, I'll just hide my kids in the backyard and set those sparklers ablaze.