After the Fourth

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Jo Firey - 05 Jul 2004 23:23 GMT

Well Jake did his best yesterday to get even with Charlie for his fondness
for classic fireworks and all the stuff he's blown up over the years. (Past
years, we didn't set off any fireworks ourselves this year)

Charlie went out about 10 am to run some errands and when he got back asked
where Jake was. I told him Jake had come inside looking quite out of sorts,
and that as far as I knew he was still in. Neighbor kids were playing with
things that whistle and smoke, etc.

Charlie is always very good about making sure the cats are in early in the
4th as well as Halloween and New Years. So they won't get run off too far
to easily find their ways home. He fretted and worried about Jake all day.
Rosie was already in and spent most of the day sleeping in full view, when
she wasn't making a dash for the door to be sure we were awake. Charlie
must have spent a good two and a half hours our calling Jake and just being
outside and worrying and keeping an eye out for him.

About eight pm Jake comes wandering out from the boys bedroom looking like
he'd had a wonderful nap, and was there something to eat maybe? Trust me we
had looked in there, but this is a bedroom shared by a 15 year old and a 16
year old boy. You could hide a tank in there.

We had a quiet evening at home. The neighbors had lots of street fireworks
and I sat outside and enjoyed those.

The newspaper this morning reports that 15 people were injured at the
official fireworks display at a nearby lake. They did not know for sure as
they went to press if one of the big rockets went sideways across the lake
into the crowd or if it was things people brought with them - not legal but
happens every year.

They said it was the second time there had been injuries at the official
display, but I know for certain it was at least the third time. The
newspaper is who sponsors the big official display. And I'm thinking this
may well be the last time.

Given their track record, I'm thinking we would be safer just setting off
whatever we can get our hands on at home. There were quite a number of sky
rockets set off around the area so someone is getting hold of some highly
illegal stuff.

We have a Bok Kai festival here every spring that honors the Chinese water
god and it includes a paper dragon and a lot of firecrackers and a "Bomb
Day" when rings are fired into the air that are considered lucky.
I don't recall anyone ever being injured at that.

Jo

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John F. Eldredge - 06 Jul 2004 01:17 GMT

>The newspaper this morning reports that 15 people were injured at
>the official fireworks display at a nearby lake. They did not know
[quoted text clipped - 6 lines]
>time. The newspaper is who sponsors the big official display. And
>I'm thinking this may well be the last time.

I saw a close call at a professional fireworks display here in
Nashville, close to 20 years ago. One rocket went up, came back
down, and detonated about 30 feet off the ground. This was one of
the ones that makes a starburst about 100 feet in diameter, so
burning bits went into the crowd. No ambulances were called,
however, so if anyone was burnt, they must not have been burnt badly.

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John F. Eldredge -- john@jfeldredge.com
PGP key available from http://pgp.mit.edu
"Reserve your right to think, for even to think wrongly is better
than not to think at all." -- Hypatia of Alexandria

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Seanette Blaylock - 06 Jul 2004 05:41 GMT

John F. Eldredge <john@jfeldredge.com> had some very interesting
things to say about Re: After the Fourth:

>I saw a close call at a professional fireworks display here in
>Nashville, close to 20 years ago. One rocket went up, came back
>down, and detonated about 30 feet off the ground. This was one of
>the ones that makes a starburst about 100 feet in diameter, so
>burning bits went into the crowd. No ambulances were called,
>however, so if anyone was burnt, they must not have been burnt badly.

In our previous city, for several years the official show was handled
by the local fire department. One year, they seemed to be having some
difficulties, with stuff going off at what seemed unreasonably low
altitude and at least one case in which pieces of casing flew into the
audience.

In subsequent years, professional pyrotechnicians have been doing the
official show in that city. :-)

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"Don't mess with major appliances unless you know what you are doing
(or unless your life insurance policy is up-to-date)." - John, RCFL

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