Unsafe and Insane?

The old schoolyard joke went something like this...

Do they have the Fourth of July in France? Well, of course they do. They just don't celebrate Independence Day then.

My Fourth of Julys as a child included a family trek to, among other places, Lanark Park in Canoga Park where I grew up. After a day of swimming and barbecuing at home, my Dad, Mom, sisters, and me would throw a few blankets in the trunk of the car and head over to this local park. We would get there early enough to stake out a good spot on the cool grass to watch the fireworks display at dusk. It was free back then, unlike some of the many over-blown so-called patriotic fiascos of late.

The fireworks at the park was a huge family thing for most of our friends. Sometimes we would bring along a cooler and some snacks. It was never anything but safe, fun, and exciting. I felt very secure. Not like some events in recent years requiring police riot squads to quell the unruly intoxicated crowds.

We would sit on our family blankets and wait with great anticipation for the show to begin when it got dark. Everyone would "Ohhh" and "Ahhh" with each colorful explosion in the sky. The smaller children would stand very close to their parents at first. Then, as the pyrotechnics went on, they got a little braver...jumping up and down and squealing with delight after every flash and boom.

Maybe the Fourth of July celebrations back then just seemed more secure and safe. After all, I was just a kid. I was within the safety net of my family. No worries.

As an adult, I've never really "worried" about big Fourth of July public wingdings and fireworks shows. I rarely attended any of them. Now, we just "hunker" down within the safety of our house or front yard and watch the craziness from there. A large contingent of neighbors with illegal fireworks is all around us. Mortars, Roman candles, rockets, and over-size firecrackers start going off before the sun goes down every year. I expect the same tonight. We sit on the lawn with our next door neighbors and gawk at the goings on just a few feet from the "safety" of our homes. Every once in a while, a fire department vehicle cruises by looking for the perpetrators of a recent barrage. They stop, get out of the car, and start asking us questions, "Do you have any illegal fireworks?", "Do you know who was responsible for that last rocket?" Not finding said "illegal fireworks bad guys", the firemen launch into a lecture about how it is illegal to even watch these displays in neighborhoods. "You should report them to the proper authorities!", they scold. Whatever!

The fire department leaves and the "show" commences again. The "bad guys" skulk out from their hiding places in darkened garages and backyards...lighting mortar and rocket fuses, then run back inside soon after they go off...leaving us to incur the next interrogation.

I guess the Fourth of July is all about the rocket's red glare and all. But, for some reason, it seems to have lost its meaning.

Be safe. peace.