BOOM! BANG! POP!

4th of July, in the United States--it is the signal--the "banner on the outward wall" for sins and shooting  crackers, pedantry and pinwheels, oranges and orations, sky-blue toilettes and sky-rockets. A day when patriotism pops and bursts about like so many bottles of sillery.~Henry Harold Paul, "4th of July in the United States"   1851--It's certainly the day for shooting of crackers, pinwheels and sky-rockets!                                                                                                                                                                                                                

                                                                                                                             
When did the 4th of July become a day for buying and shooting off illegal fireworks until well after
midnight? Fireworks that shoot feet up into the air, like those at a professional show, startling not only neighborhood dogs, older people, but military veterans who have faced the perils of war? Last night my neighborhood was ablaze with fireworks from all sides, a constant barrage of cannon and gunfire like sounds as the cat hid under the bed, the dog cowered on the bed now and then barking at then noises, and I contemplated opening the door and yelling at the top of my lungs ENOUGH!! Or perhaps getting in the car and driving around telling people I was going to call the police! Instead I just try to endure it~I might just be a crabby old lady, but I prefer a professional firework show to the up close and personal sights and sounds of the neighborhood "shows"~~Why not enjoy fireworks at a family picnic, in the park or overlooking a lake, harbor,or ocean surrounded by family, new and old friends?

"The 4th of July,when we get to play our favorite guessing game--fireworks or gunshots?"--Author Unknown
                                             

When I think about the 4th of July I think of The Declaration of Independence, "We the people", The Star Spangled Banner, the Red,White and Blue~~I think of those who have fought and those who have given their lives to protect not only our shores and freedom, but those of other countries as well~~

We on this continent should never forget that men first crossed the Atlantic not to find soil for their ploughs but to secure liberty for their souls~~Robert J McCracken

An item in the news last night caught my attention: a teenager built what amounted to a bomb by gathering a large number of sparklers into a bundle, then using another partially pushed down into the center, acting like a fuse~~it exploded making a large hole in the sidewalk or driveway causing life changing injuries to his body; loss of fingers and a foot as well as probably his eyesight~~I wonder if the Big Bang was worth it?