Our July 4th Irony

maybe we can sue monsanto/bayer/johnson&johnson

 

You smell that?

 

Well...it all started with a Big Bang...so arguably somebody up their likes fireworks.

I don't know.
I can't and absolutely shouldn't argue against anything that is greater ecological impact awareness. Becoming more aware of how our actions impact the environment and ourselves personally,- is a good thing.

But I admit I sometimes miss the ignorant bliss of yesterday.
Today, I have to bring in reusable cloth sacks when I go grocery shopping. If I buy a $150 electronic device I'm asked if I want a sack from the kid behind the counter, like if I say YES...that makes me,- Mr. McEvil- Self Indulgent Destroyer of the Rain Forest.
And I remember as a kid growing up, my brother and I going grocery shopping with my parents and riding back home wedged like a piece in a Tetris game, surrounded by seemingly countless paper sacks.
I remember when my Big Mac came in a Styrofoam container, that you used once, then crinkled up in an Ozone destroying action as you casually flipped it in the garbage container similarly filled with countless other Styrofoam containers. In my day? Not even Captain Planet recycled.

OK those weren't the good Ol' Days. I get it.
But sometimes I think the pendulum has swung too far.
I kind of think, if I pay $150 for an electronic accessory, that maybe I can be afforded a sack to carry it out of the store, without the accusational guilt trip attached through the form of the question of whether I want one or not.

They've put my hamburger in a cardboard box. They've made me drag in cloth sacks to do grocery shopping. I now have to sort through my garbage, trying to decide what falls into the pure garbage category, and what needs to go into the recycling bin. And woe the wrath of my neighbors if I miss-evaluate.
Young kids, working break in jobs, give me sneers of disapproval if I happen to think I might want a sack, instead of just walking out of the store with the goods clutched in my hand, like I'm a bandit trying to escape with the goods.

And now...

I love fireworks.
Just don't ruin them for me. Don't tell me how they are giving me cancer or are destroying the Eco System. Maybe they are...but the line has to be drawn somewhere.
Nothing is exactly like a dark summer night, and the report of fireworks and the color of their explosion against the night sky. For a man made spectacle...it's pretty impressive.
I don't want it replaced with a water show, with computer controlled laser pointers and a loud accompanying musical score. It's NOT going to be the same.

Bad enough, my Nephew grows up with the castrated reality of what personal fireworks are. Nothing that really explodes. Nothing that could cause the loss of a thumb, finger or eye. It's all so safe, approved and boring. But I don't tell that.

Oh my brother and I tempted fate every July. Lighting fireworks that are banned everywhere but actual battlefields today.
And it's better for everyone today...I suppose. I can't win an argument for dangerous and unsafe.

But just let me get a plastic sack once in a while. And just give it to me, without the question, like in the 70's when sacks were a given by virtue of purchase.
And just let me enjoy the Fireworks show, without worrying about the long term health impact or the how it might be affecting the nearby ECO system. I'm wrong about it, but in 30 years or less I'll probably be dead. And the better educated and better trained generation of today and the future can marvel at my stupidity and the irresponsible stupidity of the past.- I just want to go out with a bang and head towards the beautiful light...with a sack filled with all my ecological indiscretions.

 

Have a great 4th of July.
And don't take me too seriously here.
Even though I really do like fireworks. I'm going to go see some tonight.

 

We were walking the dog past some big playing fields today, and a mower was tearing around, just wrapping up. You guessed it: mowing lawns releases pollutants, not just the stinky, unregulated mowers, the cutting of the grass blades too, releases some pollutants.

Cut Grass May Add to Air Pollution, Study Says - The Washington Post

 

This was last night:



This was for dinner (we started smoking it last night):



This is our mission today (we are almost finishing the second flight and preparing for flight number 3):



Happy 4th to everyone .

 

watching the pops with my trusty black box, nitrate warning and all

 

No bottles for you?

One of these days you’ll club up.

 

that was my past. my future is two buck chuck. retirement isn't always pretty

 

Sounds like you need to find some wine lovin’ friends.

But my in-laws now shop for wine at the local BevMo. So they are in the same boat.

Enjoy the evening and don’t get too close. We watched last nights from the back patio and didn’t have to fight the crowds or deal with not drinking.

 

i'm watching on tv the flyover from the pops came right over our house. pretty cool.

 

One of the few nights I wish I had TV. (I'm on the losing end of terrain vs. ATSC)

I am getting plenty of the soundtrack, at least the 12ga & .223 portions of it from my neighbors.

Happy 4th!

 

Hopefully they weren’t too low, otherwise it gets loud.

But always cool to see them live.

 

When we lived in Wichita, it was the Wild West for fireworks for over a week.

Curfew was midnight, so it made getting up the next day for work a tiring challenge.

There was plenty of firearms involved too.

 

Outlaw shows can be fantastic. I attended one in the er... "Irish Riviera" area of Southeastern MA a few years ago that really impressed me. Big and loud enough to attract a MA State Police chopper... and also repel it for its own safety. Much bigger and longer display than the local municipal shows. Very rowdy crowd yet I didn't see anyone hurt.

 

Best fireworks “display” I have seen was New Year’s Eve in Rome.

We were there on our honeymoon and were thinking about going to the coliseum for the display, but too many locals were lighting off fireworks in the street .

We ended up going to the top floor of the hotel and had a great view of the skyline .

There were probably 300-400 separate locations we could discern over the course of the evening. Was a memorable experience .