From a blog post I just put up on the Threads website today...

Can I just say that my kids are excited about the fact that tomorrow is Independence Day? Emerie, who really still has no concept of time, has been asking when 'fireworks day' is going to be here several times a day for the last week or so (at least). The 4th of July has got to rank up there in kid-popularity along with such holidays as Christmas and Halloween.

I remember as a kid stretching the bounds of what was 'appropriate firework enjoyment.' I would sit on my front porch with my sling shot in hand & punk in mouth. I'd stick a firecracker in the slingshot, pull it back, light it with my mouth & shoot away. Needless to say, those errant ones in the batch (the ones that seem to go off almost as soon as you light them) caused many a burned finger & holes in my shirt.

As a teenager I participated in more than one roman candle fight. I'd stand in grand western 'showdown' fashion with another buddy some distance apart. We'd light our roman candles and proceeds to run around and try and avoid being hit by the flaming balls flying at us from the other person.

Yeah, I know - REALLY smart, Chris.

Really, it wasn't that bad. Just ask Aaron McGuire, David & Dustin Cantrell, or BJ Powell if my firework 'stunts' were worthy of note. They'd just laugh as they duct taped 100 sparklers together to light & launch.

So, in my feeble attempt at helping you enjoy a safe and happy Independence Day, I thought it might be nice to share these words of wisdom from The National Council on Fireworks Safety - with comment, of course:

• Use fireworks and sparklers only outdoors. - Really, I had never thought about that one. Hmmm... Come on, are people really that stupid? Ok, maybe they are.
• Only persons over 12 years of age should handle sparklers of any type. Too many young people get burned by sparklers every year. By keeping sparkers out of youngsters, we can reduce these injury rates. - Kids without sparklers? Come on - these are like one of the few things my kids can do on the 4th of July. Just supervise them and make sure that they're not drawing pictures in the sky too close to their brother or sister, Aunt Bertha who used an entire can of hairspray to get her hair just right for the festivities.
• Obey local laws. If fireworks are not legal where you are, don’t use them. If drought conditions mean a ban on fireworks, follow the law. - Just plain smart. If you're in an area that hasn't gotten a lot of rain (I know this doesn't apply to a great majority of our family & friends living in the Midwest), play it safe.
• Only use fireworks as intended. Don’t try to alter them or combine them. - Aaron/David/Dustin/BJ did you get that one? :-)
• When all else fails, use common sense. - Here, here.

So, as you enjoy the holiday, remember one thing... don't be one of those people - you know, the ones that you see on the news because they thought it would be cool to tie a roman candle to the tail of the neighbors cat only to have it run into their car and set the upholstery ablaze.