Why Fireworks Are Part of the Celebration

I never understood why I like them so much. On the Fourth of July they show lots of color and explosions. They have different shapes and different designs. Some are short-lived and some go on forever. These amazing sights to behold never get boring. The once or twice a year event is always in my mind. I look toward the events every year.

Yes, you guessed it. They are fireworks. I have seen them on July 4th and the New Year. These extraordinary lights never stop amazing to me.

I know you enjoy them, too. Think about the great times you had with friends or family. You were eating hotdogs, drinking a beer or sitting on a boat. You were watching and being giggly inside. It is pure adrenaline and enjoyment in the bang, bangs.

You might remember being at a sporting event and the fireworks going off. You might have taken your kids and family to Disney World or Disney Land and watched the fireworks. Remember how you felt in those short-lived moments in time? Do you enjoy the time with your loved ones? I know I did.

That brings me back to my childhood. To remember my crazy grandpa, the first time was with him. He always had Black Cat firecrackers. There was never a time he didn't have firecrackers. Or if there weren't any we could go to the gas station to buy them.

Now is the time when the firecrackers were legal in Virginia. To buy firecrackers you drive to South Carolina or Tennessee. There are none to buy on an Indian reservations. You can't even buy them on the Fourth of July! It is a sad state of mind for a child at heart.

Many times I would throw them in a bucket and hear the echo through out. I learned lighting them off in a tube would magnify the sound. An example would be a ditch pipe about one to two feet in diameter is the best.

Sometimes if the firecracker didn't go off, I would break it in half to pour out the powder. I would light the powder and watch it ignite. It would flare and sparkle, then fizz out. No boom.

Don't put the power on your pants leg or directly on your leg. That is not a good idea. Have you ever done that? I hope not.

Anyway, my grandpa and I were driving down the highway in the rural part of Virginia. There lots of tobacco and corn fields.

There were two people walking on the side of the highway. He asked me if I wanted to watch these two people jump. I nodded, yes. He directed me to roll down my window. He took out his cigarette and lit a firecracker. As we drove by the pedestrians he threw the firecracker out the window.

My dream came true. They jumped and gave the one finger peace sign of approval. We chuckled for a long time. He reminded my not tell grandma. I can surely write this article now. Both my grandparents are dead. I like to think that grandpa got a hard hit in the shoulder from grandma in heaven.

Grandpa's timing was perfect as to not hit them with the firecracker. My joy of setting off firecrackers had just begun.

Fast forward to my twenties, I was a copycat to my grandfather's antics. I had to learn a lesson the hard way.

They are these firecracker things glued on long thin stick. You guess it. They are bottle rockets. The creators of bottle rockets are geniuses!

I am driving down a different highway from my above childhood experience. I did have a cigarette in my mouth to light the bottle rocket. Grandpa was not present. I always had to one-up people. I rolled down my window. And I was driving about 45 mph.

I put fire to the rocket and stuck it out the window. Boy did they ever take off. I think I saw one car swerve away or slow down. That was before everyone had car phones, so I was safe. They could have taken my license plate number. They could have stopped at a payphone to call the police. I learned a lesson the different way.

Driving down the road with the window open, air would flow into my truck cab. I was not smart to realize this concept; I tossed one out the window. It came back in the cab. Drivers behind me probably thought I was drinking before because I was swerving all over the road. I was desperately trying to put the bottle rocket out before it exploded. I would have gone deaf for a little bit.

That was not a good day. The smart thing would have been to pull over. Not me. I just kept driving and being a danger to cars around me. Forgetting my own well-being.

Luckily I had a flannel jacket that I covered the bottle rocket. My previous quick idea of grabbing the sparkly thing with my hand didn't work out. I burned my palm. It was probably a two degree burn. I can't remember what I told family to excuse the burned hand. But it was probably a lie.