Fireworks?

[Rams]

As a child, I (like just about everyone else) enjoyed fireworks displays.   Huge explosions and light shows in the sky were fun and obviously entertaining.

But I also recognize the dangers associated with fireworks and seriously question if, they are worth the dangers they bring with them.   Every year there are unplanned detonations injuring and killing people.  I have a few friends whose lives were forever changed due to mishandling and unplanned detonations.   One being permanently blinded in one eye with the other eye also injured and facial disfigurement.   A few with hand injuries from some very poor handling of fireworks.

I'm not advocating for an end to such displays but will not provide or buy any for my grandson.   It's simply not worth the risk.   Leave such things to the professionals.

Please be safe if you decide to participate with explosives.

Rams   

 

[Serk]

Seven missing after fireworks warehouse explosion in California:

https://www.foxnews.com/us/seven-missing-after-powerful-explosion-california-fireworks-facility-evacuation-orders-remain-place

Granted, this is a mixture of drones AND fireworks, but the drone shows are getting really good:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zdOTV2RH9IY

Having said that, I still use fireworks, and (Under supervision) let my kids set them off too...

Keep in mind (Unless you get illicit ones) the fireworks of today are NOTHING like the fireworks we could get even in the 1980's, and while still not toys, are far less likely to main or injure (Unless you set off a whole warehouse of 'em, or do something stupid like stick a bottle rocket up your butt of course.)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6wYmMd9S2Mk

("Authorities suspect drugs or alcohol may have been involved.")

[henry 008]

My son works for the City and his boss, the city maintenance manager, was in a terrible accident a few years ago. He had his license to set up and shoot off fireworks and did so professionally for the city and surrounding communities as a part time hobby and job. He was carrying some new style of fireworks that were operated electronically and not with fuses or wires when all of a sudden there was static charge that set one off sending it into his chin. The firework hadn't exploded yet but the force of the propellant took off his lower jaw and parts of the roof of his mouth and most of his nose. he was in the hospital for a very long time and had multiple surgeries to make him look somewhat normal. He has no teeth and can't smell or taste anything but pretty much lives doing what he was doing before the accident. It was an amazing comeback story as everyone thought he would never get back to a normal life.

[Jess from VA]

I never had a fireworks injury, but on July 4, 1976 (almost 50 years ago), I blew up a 1lb can of black powder in my right hand after getting it over the night before's firepit, with the cap off sprinkling.  Black powder (used in fireworks) is nearly as volatile as gasoline (unlike modern smokeless powder). 

I was miles on foot with college buddies in the wilds of WVa, and loading my old 1st model Colt's Dragoon .44 for the boom and 5 feet of flame for the 4th.  

Big oh sh!t moment and off to the hospital with 1st and 2d degree burns (and just lucky I had on a hat and eyeglasses).  Hands, arms, lower face and a full beard were smoked.

Those college buddies remain life long friends and will remind me time to time of being stupidly patriotic and blowing myself up for the Bicentennial 4th.  

Not an original (like this), an Italian replica.

When empty, it's a formidable club.

[f6john]

I enjoys other peoples fireworks. I have lived this long without blowing myself up or setting myself on fire, even though I my have come so close over the years.

[Willow]

I think we sometimes put too much stock in what we hear on the "news".  Things get reported from far away and multiples so it seems like they're happening all around us.  I wonder how many fireworks are used all over the country by how many million people with no serious incident occurring?

If we were really that concerned about safety and danger the speed limits on all our hiways would be twenty-five or thirty miles per hour.

[LadyDraco]

I think we sometimes put too much stock in what we hear on the "news".  Things get reported from far away and multiples so it seems like they're happening all around us.  I wonder how many fireworks are used all over the country by how many million people with no serious incident occurring?

If we were really that concerned about safety and danger the speed limits on all our hiways would be twenty-five or thirty miles per hour.

I agree, can't believe everything ya read/hear in the news...
It can be like playing telephone as a kid , and by the time it gets to the end it's all blown out of proportion.. It can be pretty funny.

In my 164  something years I only knew 1 person that blew off a few fingers , His own stupidity .
He was about 17 when that happened

[Rams]

I think we sometimes put too much stock in what we hear on the "news".  Things get reported from far away and multiples so it seems like they're happening all around us.  I wonder how many fireworks are used all over the country by how many million people with no serious incident occurring?

If we were really that concerned about safety and danger the speed limits on all our hiways would be twenty-five or thirty miles per hour.

I do agree that you have a valid point on the reporting of such things and possibly the end results but, I sure as hell won't be telling my friend with the glass eye or the one with the mangled hand not to be concerned about the safety of fireworks.

BTW, highway has a gh in it. 

Rams   

[John Schmidt]

This reminds me of an incident at least a couple years ago when I was in high school. It was a couple weeks after July 4, 195? and three of us innocent young men were riding around one evening in our buddies green Ford convertible with the top down, searching! We still had a fair amount of ammo left over from the 4th and it came in handy that night. We pulled up to a stoplight and an old '48 Buick pulled up next to us loaded with some black dudes we recognized from a town about 15 miles away...played them in basketbal and football. So, these dudes had a couple strings of Lady Crackers, about 1/2" long, tiny little things that made a little pop when they went off. Anyway, these guys lit two short strings of the Ladys and tossed them on the hood of our car and they started to go off like a big pan of popcorn...they thought it was hilarious. We decided to pay them back so lit a couple strings of red 2", each string about 8" long, then tossed one in the front seat window and one in the back seat window. That car looked like an ant hill the way they all started piling out with those crackers banging off in their car. We thought we were hilarious that time...never saw that car again. I enjoyed high school, it taught me to believe in Guardian Angels!

[Jess from VA]

Lady Crackers, about 1/2" long, tiny little things

I believe those were called Lady Fingers John.  

Living on an island within sight of Canada, we'd hop in Boston Whalers and 12-16 foot aluminums and outboard over there to buy fireworks unavailable at home.

How old are you guys?

Old enough to have $50 cash.

OK, what do you want?    

M80s and Silver Salutes come to mind.  





Lady Fingers

[Rams]

This reminds me of an incident at least a couple years ago when I was in high school.

SNIP

We thought we were hilarious that time.

I'm reminded to a stupid stunt that occured in a similar time frame.

We were in high school, a group of us loaded up going somewhere (don't remember where) and one of the guys brought along a bag of M80 fireworks.   This was in the late fall of the year so it was cold outside.   My friend decided that it would be fun to try and light an M80 and toss it out the window in front of an oncoming car.   Rolling the window up and down as target vehicles approached.  He did this several times and yes, we all thought that it was funny to us but, I'm sure it wasn't to the cars coming toward us.

Regardless, the last one he did, he didn't get the window down far enough and the M80 bounced back, landed in his lap and went off.   The exercise (all of a sudden) wasn't nearly as funny now.    Yes, he was injured and the rest of us had ringing ears for quite a while.   His injuries healed but, we did take him to the ER due to the blood and pain he was yelling about.  He claims he's scarred down there, I'm taking his word on that. 

Thankfully, that M80 didn't land and explode in or close to the bag still holding more M80s.   

Some lessons we learn the hard way.   

Rams

[Willow]

...
BTW, highway has a gh in it. 

I know.  It wasn't an accident.  I do it to show my disrespect.   

[Rams]

...
BTW, highway has a gh in it. 

I know.  It wasn't an accident.  I do it to show my disrespect.   

Such a statement should not be left open ended, to who or what?

Rams

[Willow]

...
BTW, highway has a gh in it. 

I know.  It wasn't an accident.  I do it to show my disrespect.   

Such a statement should not be left open ended, to who or what?

To whom.   

[Rams]

...
BTW, highway has a gh in it.  

I know.  It wasn't an accident.  I do it to show my disrespect.  

Such a statement should not be left open ended, to who or what?

To whom.  

Nope, intended it that way.  
The lack of an answer to the question says?

Rams

[Willow]

...
BTW, highway has a gh in it.  

I know.  It wasn't an accident.  I do it to show my disrespect.  

Such a statement should not be left open ended, to who or what?

To whom.  

Nope, intended it that way.  
The lack of an answer to the question says? 

In an effort to avoid personally offending a friend I held the response.   

[Rams]

...
BTW, highway has a gh in it.  

I know.  It wasn't an accident.  I do it to show my disrespect.  

Such a statement should not be left open ended, to who or what?

To whom.  

Nope, intended it that way.  
The lack of an answer to the question says?  

In an effort to avoid personally offending a friend I held the response.  

And may have had the opposite effect.    Some things are better left unsaid or stated in a clearer message for all to understand.  I'll leave it at that.

Rams

[Jess from VA]

Last night my neighborhood was like 'little Beirut' with nonstop rockets (large and small), bangs, booms, strings of them for hours.  And lots of hoots and hollers.  In 35 years, I cannot remember it ever being so noisy.

The question is:   Was it patriotism or pyromania?   

[Serk]

I noted a LOT more celebration of rebellion in my neighborhood last night compared to recent year... The spousal unit was speculating, due to the recent change in governance, folks are just feeling more patriotic than they have been recently...

(Fireworks are illegal in my municipality, but most folks ignore that law on the 4th and New Year's)



Please keep your dogs and children quiet this morning. Some of us have been up all night shooting fireworks. Thank you for your attention to this matter.

[Rams]

I noted a LOT more celebration of rebellion in my neighborhood last night compared to recent year... The spousal unit was speculating, due to the recent change in governance, folks are just feeling more patriotic than they have been recently...

(Fireworks are illegal in my municipality, but most folks ignore that law on the 4th and New Year's)

SNIP

Please keep your dogs and children quiet this morning. Some of us have been up all night shooting fireworks. Thank you for your attention to this matter.

My Spousal Unit's pooch has to be medicated on such celebratory dates.   If not, the end result is not pleasant in the gifts he leaves for us.    But I did watch several Drone Light Shows and was very impressed with the shows and the creativity behind them.   Pretty impressive IMHO.  Honestly, I'd rather watched them than the explosive versions and they do a lot more things.

Rams

[Serk]

We have a 120 pound blind German Shepherd that's in the same boat wrt fireworks or lightning storms.

We got him a thunder shirt, and he's content with just it now, if ya'll haven't tried one it's worth a shot.

He can hear/sense a thunderstorm coming now and will start asking for it even. (He'll nose the drawer it lives in.)

(Many size and color options, but an example: https://www.amazon.com/ThunderShirt-Classic-Anxiety-Jacket-Heather/dp/B0029PY7SK?th=1   )

[Rams]

We have a 120 pound blind German Shepherd that's in the same boat wrt fireworks or lightning storms.

We got him a thunder shirt, and he's content with just it now, if ya'll haven't tried one it's worth a shot.

He can hear/sense a thunderstorm coming now and will start asking for it even. (He'll nose the drawer it lives in.)

(Many size and color options, but an example: https://www.amazon.com/ThunderShirt-Classic-Anxiety-Jacket-Heather/dp/B0029PY7SK?th=1   )

Appreciate the heads up, will make sure the Spousal Unit is aware of them.   It's her pooch.

My former 180 lb. Bullmastiff always slept through such things. 


Rams

[Jess from VA]

That Thundershirt looks promising.  Do they make them in wife sizes?   

[Serk]

That Thundershirt looks promising.  Do they make them in wife sizes?   

Yes, they do... Did you adopt a new one?