Jump to content

Menu

So what it is about fireworks ...


Recommended Posts

Fireworks shows I love! Fireworks in my neighborhood... not.so.much.

 

I live in Washington where big fireworks are legal for the everyday Joe to buy from June 28-July 5. There are huge fireworks stands on every street corner. I mean like 12 huge stands in a half mile...every, single, corner. Our previous swim team got a licence last year and made over $10,000 the first time ever selling fireworks. That is a lot of everyday people spending a lot of money for some little shiny thing that goes bang, sparkle, sparkle, fizz.

 

So, someone please explain to me what the appeal is to people to set off fireworks in the middle of the street. When there is a pipe bomb scare, the police block off entire streets, but for 9 days every summer, explosives are legal, for sale everywhere, and encouraged as part of an all day party (and often drunk fest). There are also tribal lands that sell the really big fireworks. These are obviously illegal (off tribal land) but so many people don't seem to care. How does this even seem remotely like a good idea?

 

We have a neighbor that goes to the extreme....and I mean extreme. We are talking fireworks coming into his garage on pallets, extreme. He sells them on the side to fund his passion. He lets off fireworks for 4-5 hours, in vast quantities. He rivals the local shows, but in the middle of a neighborhood. :001_huh: He has damaged property, including setting a neighbors house on fire one year. We put it out before any damage was caused. We can't go any where on the 4th, we have to stay home and keep fire watch.

 

 

 

So, tell me...what is it about them that people love. Not just to watch, but to purchase large quantities, spent huge amounts of money, and watch it all fizzle into the night sky in a matter of hours? No fair just saying, 'it's fun', I want real answers, please. :bigear:

 

Remember I love fireworks...in shows.

 

Enlighten me please!:lol:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

No clue.

There's a $500 for setting off fireworks in our development, but people do it all. the. time.

 

I love fireworks, too. My balcony has a great view of the mountains, where we can see all of the fireworks from different events through the summer. I cannot wrap my mind around risking one's safety and potential fines to do that sort of thing at home.

 

Plus, it makes my dogs nuts!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

In our town it became law last year that you could only shoot them off on the 4th from noon till midnight.

 

Two years ago we were coming home from a friends house and as we approached our own it was like a war zone. The kids were terrified, we could hear them hitting our roof. We were afraid to go to sleep for fear of a fire. It was a long night.

 

I love to watch displays. But for our budget buying fireworks is like lighting our money on fire and watching it burn. I just can't seem to do it.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Some fireworks with the family, done safely, at 9pm, no problemo.

 

Fireworks for weeks, until and after midnight? Not so much.

 

I must say that DH is enthusiastic about fireworks and is delighted that we are in a pocket in WA where they are legal. Over the years, I have imposed safety restrictions ; ), and I'm pretty happy with our current setup. We have a large concrete driveway, with gravel between it and the road, and we always hook up a hose. We also always pick up our fireworks when we are done.

 

The children enjoy seeing the colors and display and knowing that we are doing it ourselves, in addition to going to the big city show. We only spend $25-$50 on them, so it doesn't break the bank.

 

However, I tend to get a little testy from people thinking that the 4th and freedom to do fireworks means large shows at midnight for WEEKS in our neighborhood.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

My family was into fireworks back when I was a kid. But that was back when nothing went flying into the air; we were limited to cones on the ground and spinning things.

 

These days they go flying so I have a problem with it as they land on our roof and dead lawn. I'm always worried about my home going up in flames while we aren't home. Not to mention the fact that they are illegal in my city (I'm in WA too) and they go off until 2-3am, making it hard to sleep.

 

We're spending the 4th at a friend's house this year. She married to a police officer in our city and he's on duty all day. He gets to spend the day incinerating all of the confiscated fireworks because he's on the bomb squad.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I hate crowds. For that reason among others, I love purchasing fireworks and having our own show every year. We have people over and set them off when it gets dark enough. We probably spend $200-300 every year for the fireworks, plus what we spend on some of the food (potluck but we provide the meat and drinks). Why do we do it? It's a tradition for us, and I love having this tradition and avoiding the crowds at the same time. It gives other people a place to come and hang out and enjoy the show with us. I wouldn't trade it for the world. I also don't throw big birthday/other holiday parties, so this is kind of a one-off for us to get everyone over here.

 

All that being said, we do live outside city limits with plenty of land. The small day stuff is set off in the driveway and when it gets dark, we move back to the pasture to set the big stuff off. The neighbors have started having people over at THEIR house to watch OUR show, which cracks me up.

 

My DH also grew up without being able to purchase fireworks at all and absolutely loves having the freedom to create and set off his own show.

 

So that, more or less, is why we do a big fireworks thing. We don't have problems with people setting stuff off before the 4th unless it's a few firecrackers or an early big show, but I would be irritated if someone was doing that illegally, too.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

We live outside Portland, Oregon. Our neighbor across the court goes to Washington and buys all the big fireworks that are illegal here and sets them off in our court until late into the night...towards our 5 acres of forest. Thank goodness we get so much rain!!

 

I used to love 4th of July...now I can't wait for it be over every year.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

 Share

×
×
  • Create New...