Ugh. The 4th of July.
The day that everyone forgets what's suppose to be celebrated and, instead, does one or more of the following: drinks, lights of explosives, gets bit by blood-sucking bugs, freaks out little dogs who are afraid of loud noises, forcing them pills to calm them down, or get hit by fireworks.
I am the last of these.
Seriously, I don't know if I have some sort of mutant-gene that attracts the blasted things, but it seems to happen to me more often than I'm comfortable with.
For instance...
We (Willow and friends) were nestled beneath the play-set, keeping inside of our sleeping bags for both comfort and warmth. I was wearing protective glasses (yeah, I'm a little bit paranoid about fireworks, so what?), and they were all smudged. Some of the bigger fireworks were going to be set off by my older brother (who loves them, he makes a whole show of it), so I ducked under my bag to wipe off the glasses.
There was a flash of pink, and a moment later I peaked my head over the covers. "What?" I asked my gaping friends as they stared at me with horror.
"That firework went right over you're head! It would have hit your face!"
Other than fireworks falling over, my brothers 'modified' firework (a combination of taped together pieces) fell and went right for my legs. Of course, I moved enough that it didn't hit me, but I was really shaken up and ran inside for a good cry.
And there was the time my brother (he's quite notorious for this sort of thing) threw a little explosive at my feet.
Paranoid, me?
More like experienced.
I can just picture the obituary: Darrion, tragically killed by a colored flaming ball of explosives (also known as a firework) to the face. Service on Friday at 11. Please bring cookies for afterwards.
Those little incidents have all lead up to this, the most dreaded holiday of the year, at least in my case.
Also, a bunch of people in our neighborhood light off fireworks a whole month before July even starts. Which freaks out my little dog, and makes it hard to sleep for both him and me. It's been a really warm (which also means dry!) few months in our state, which isn't usual. i.e. fire hazard.
The local fire-station is asking the town not to use fireworks, but to just go see big shows or watch it on TV.
Well, that's just dandy. A sign of what's to come, I'll wager.
I am also the one saying in way to the store, "Are you sure we need more beer, while lighting fireworks off and all?"
But guess what?
Nobody listens to you when you're a kid.
That makes scenes, you don't have much experience, you are just a kid. But when you're a teenager?
What do you think, I'm a hormonal mess who can't think about situations logically? Apparently, I have enough foresight so see that alcohol and explosives do not go hand-in-hand.
Seriously. Who would trust themselves to light of a grenade after they've had a couple of drinks?
But, in reality, I love Independence Day. Everything that it stands for; the signing of the Declaration of Independence, life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness are all great things. I'm a third generation immigrant, I'm an American. I love all of these things, I love this country. I'd love to celebrate it.
But no one seems to. They don't care what it's about, just so that they can blow things up.
What ever happened to reading the Declaration? What happened to dressing up in Colonial fashions? Com'on, have a tea party or something!
I don't have anything against people lighting off fireworks. They're pretty to look at. But preferably not up close.
In other words, I just don't want to get hit by them. Let's see what happens this year...
Well, that wasn't so bad. I didn't get my head blown off.
We had a smaller celebration this year, and my brother's wife's family were over. We had good food (though I did spend half of the day making potato-salad for Grandma) and good talk.
The fireworks were on all horizons, a lot of people in our neighborhood and town were setting them off anyway.
After the show was over, we (Willow and I) stayed up watching Thor: the Dark World that was on TV. We had been watching Captain America: the Winter Soldier when the little dog was freaking out. The loud TV helps drown out the firework bangs.
Anyway, it all ended up okay. I guess I am kind of paranoid ;) But hey, I wouldn't be so cautious if they hadn't nearly hit me.
I hope you all ended up with a safe and happy 4th like I did! Thanks for reading my rant :)
The day that everyone forgets what's suppose to be celebrated and, instead, does one or more of the following: drinks, lights of explosives, gets bit by blood-sucking bugs, freaks out little dogs who are afraid of loud noises, forcing them pills to calm them down, or get hit by fireworks.
I am the last of these.
Seriously, I don't know if I have some sort of mutant-gene that attracts the blasted things, but it seems to happen to me more often than I'm comfortable with.
For instance...
We (Willow and friends) were nestled beneath the play-set, keeping inside of our sleeping bags for both comfort and warmth. I was wearing protective glasses (yeah, I'm a little bit paranoid about fireworks, so what?), and they were all smudged. Some of the bigger fireworks were going to be set off by my older brother (who loves them, he makes a whole show of it), so I ducked under my bag to wipe off the glasses.
There was a flash of pink, and a moment later I peaked my head over the covers. "What?" I asked my gaping friends as they stared at me with horror.
"That firework went right over you're head! It would have hit your face!"
Other than fireworks falling over, my brothers 'modified' firework (a combination of taped together pieces) fell and went right for my legs. Of course, I moved enough that it didn't hit me, but I was really shaken up and ran inside for a good cry.
And there was the time my brother (he's quite notorious for this sort of thing) threw a little explosive at my feet.
Paranoid, me?
More like experienced.
I can just picture the obituary: Darrion, tragically killed by a colored flaming ball of explosives (also known as a firework) to the face. Service on Friday at 11. Please bring cookies for afterwards.
Those little incidents have all lead up to this, the most dreaded holiday of the year, at least in my case.
Also, a bunch of people in our neighborhood light off fireworks a whole month before July even starts. Which freaks out my little dog, and makes it hard to sleep for both him and me. It's been a really warm (which also means dry!) few months in our state, which isn't usual. i.e. fire hazard.
The local fire-station is asking the town not to use fireworks, but to just go see big shows or watch it on TV.
Well, that's just dandy. A sign of what's to come, I'll wager.
I am also the one saying in way to the store, "Are you sure we need more beer, while lighting fireworks off and all?"
But guess what?
Nobody listens to you when you're a kid.
That makes scenes, you don't have much experience, you are just a kid. But when you're a teenager?
What do you think, I'm a hormonal mess who can't think about situations logically? Apparently, I have enough foresight so see that alcohol and explosives do not go hand-in-hand.
Seriously. Who would trust themselves to light of a grenade after they've had a couple of drinks?
But, in reality, I love Independence Day. Everything that it stands for; the signing of the Declaration of Independence, life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness are all great things. I'm a third generation immigrant, I'm an American. I love all of these things, I love this country. I'd love to celebrate it.
But no one seems to. They don't care what it's about, just so that they can blow things up.
What ever happened to reading the Declaration? What happened to dressing up in Colonial fashions? Com'on, have a tea party or something!
I don't have anything against people lighting off fireworks. They're pretty to look at. But preferably not up close.
In other words, I just don't want to get hit by them. Let's see what happens this year...
Sincerely,
Darrion
UPDATE
Well, that wasn't so bad. I didn't get my head blown off.
We had a smaller celebration this year, and my brother's wife's family were over. We had good food (though I did spend half of the day making potato-salad for Grandma) and good talk.
The fireworks were on all horizons, a lot of people in our neighborhood and town were setting them off anyway.
After the show was over, we (Willow and I) stayed up watching Thor: the Dark World that was on TV. We had been watching Captain America: the Winter Soldier when the little dog was freaking out. The loud TV helps drown out the firework bangs.
Anyway, it all ended up okay. I guess I am kind of paranoid ;) But hey, I wouldn't be so cautious if they hadn't nearly hit me.
I hope you all ended up with a safe and happy 4th like I did! Thanks for reading my rant :)
Sincerely,
Darrion
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~Darrion~