Fireworks rant
In my childhood, I lit sparklers during the 4th of July.
That’s it…no rockets, no spinners, no barbecue.
We talked about the reason we celebrated the holiday: Our founding fathers declared their independence from England on July 4, 1776. It was the beginning of an arduous road to freedom, filled with hardships and great sacrifices by the signers of that declaration.
My love for fireworks died when my 2nd hubby and I took our son to a 4th of July celebration in Madison, Wisconsin. Not even half way through the display, the face of the fireworks handler lit up, as if his entire head was the lampshade.
Fortunately, we were among the first to leave the area after the ambulance arrived to take the corpse away.

Chilly Coon Kitty frightened by fireworks
Every year, someone loses a hand, an eye, a foot, or a life when these mini-bombs explode too soon.
Every year, my dogs and cats try desperately to find respite from the noise.
Every D@#$%d year, my neighbors start setting off fireworks the day before. On July 4th, it is unrelenting from 9:00pm to midnight. On July 5th, it took them an hour to use up the leftovers.
It isn’t just our dogs and cats who are affected.
Children with autism can have the same reaction to fireworks.
The lack of common sense used by people who won’t leave fireworks displays to experts seems to be equal to the lack of knowledge about why we celebrate the holiday.
When my dogs are shaking with fear, cuddled against me and whimpering, I think about the selfishness of people who just have to have fireworks displays in their back yards.
I imagine drunken people setting off a fireworks rocket: How would they feel if it lodged into the head of a child and exploded.
They’d probably try to sue the rocket manufacturer.
This is exactly how I feel during the Diwali festival here. Not only are they causing distress to animals and autistic children and other sensitive people, they are also polluting the environment!
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Thanks for your support. Sometimes it feels like I’m the only one with that viewpoint. It helps to know that I’m not alone in my thoughts.
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Oh no. You’re not the only one.
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Whoever invents the silent firework with all the sparkles and glitter of the noisy stuff today will make a mint. Pets are terrified for humans to ooh and aah at hundreds of thousands of pounds going up in smoke.
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Wouldn’t that be an amazing invention!
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Wouldn’t it just, and sales would rocket (excuse the pun)
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I love fireworks, but animals, definitely not. Being animal lover, it’s so hard to see them suffer during festivals in india. I wish these fireworks could be mute and only colourful 😐.
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That makes 3 of us so far. I would bet there are many more people with your idea.
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There are definitely more people.. with heart ❤️
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I’m with you as I spent the last two nights cuddled with a pair of 70 lb Labs. They were shaking so bad that I thought I was in a motel in the 1970’s on a Vibra-Bed.
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My experience was similar. Our dogs and cats are 4-footed family members.
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I love to watch the fireworks display put on by our town on the 4th. I cannot tolerate the neighborhood idiots who shoot things off just to make noise in the back yard. My area sounded like a war zone and it has escalated over time. Many miles of distance seems to be the only thing that lessens the boom. It lessens the meaning of the holiday for me. So sad.
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Sad to say, I’m many miles away from town, but the 4 houses within a 1/2 mile radius just have to set off fireworks.
Our dogs and cats hearing is very keen. I would imagine that each “bomb” that goes off is ear-shattering.
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Same. I enjoy going to the professional fireworks display once in a while. (I went this year for the first time in probably a decade.) But I refuse to touch anything other than sparklers. It’s just my “be smart” brain kicking in. People set off fireworks the day before, the day of, and the day after (if you’re lucky). The same happens for New Years. Only the fireworks happen for the week leading up to it and a week after. Really? Are you still not tired? The noise annoys me. The smoke annoys me. The flashes annoy me. Let alone the animals, people with autism, seizures, etc. Fireworks are for people. If you like them, go for it. But be careful, and don’t spend your entire paycheck on it…
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You said it well!
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My sentiments exactly.
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Thanks.
I’m finding that many people feel the same way we do.
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I don’t live in the “City”, but the City of St. Louis had 106 fire calls that night. One of them was when a rocket fell over and shot into a guy’s garage where all his fireworks were stored. Burned his house down.
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There’s this word: Karma. It seems to fit.
In other parts of the country, a man blew his hand off. There are many other instances.
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I have never liked fireworks!
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I’m with all here, too. If I was Supreme Commander of the Universe, one of the 1st things I’d do is put the entire idea of gunpowder, etc., back into the bottle, and wipe all knowledge and memory of it from all sentient beings. (I don’t want to be SCofU, other than being able to do that, though.)
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We all have dreams — it’s great to dream big. 😊
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