July 3rd

You're a day early, folks.

The freakin' yokels in the this town are already blowing off their fireworks. It's almost sorry to say that it's driving me nuts.

It sounds like the Allies bombing Berlin during World War II. Are they chucking sticks of dynamite to one another?!

But ah ... the good ol' days and the splendor of fireworks. I usually held my own cache of whistlers and Black Cats in my top drawer of my dresser back home.

I remember one particular that I was staying over at a friend's house back in junior high. We ended up getting into a "Roman Candle" fight -- holding the Roman Candle like they were bazookas and blasting them at one another. Yes, a few of us got burned.

But the highlight was the so-called "chasers," -- we'd strip the whistlers down without the paper and the stick. Light 'em, set 'em on the ground, and see where they went. Delightful, especially if you had to dive for cover.