A memory of fireworks..

[Bob Wright]

There was a tremendous display of fireworks in my neighborhood last night, illegal though they may be. And fireworks always sort of remind me of my Dad:

It was September of 1944 and World War II was at its height. There was a fireworks display at the Fairgrounds called "The Bombing of Berlin" and my Dad took me to see it. (For his pleasure, too, I might add. He and I were cut from the same cloth.) It was a marvelous display to my young eyes. Not only the aerial bursts, but the cartoons in fireworks displays. The only one I remember was an LST landing a goose which waddled across your view and laid the golden egg. This all in fireworks!
As we were leaving, Dad picked up a cardboard wad from one of the mortars, scorched in places. Waking up the next morning he had placed that wad next to my bed. Written in ink, in his beautiful handwriting was the legend: "Robert's first fireworks the Bombing of Berlin Sept. 1944"


I kept that wad for many years but time and moving have parted me from it.

Bit I still remember it.


Bob Wright

 

[Fox Mike]

We also had two of those 'ill eagle' displays. One behind me on the 3rd and one across the street last night. Just sat on our porch and enjoyed.

 

[blume357]

there was a lot of booming going on here in Greenville, SC until just after 10:00 and all of it legal. But did not go out to watch... I got over fireworks back in about 2012 with the last display I did for our neighborhood.. it was a theme my wife cooked up a number of years before for new years eve.... blowing up the Christmas Tree.... I would take a discarded Christmas Tree and fuse together a good bit of pyrotechnics in it and then set it off... did this for years at my families pond but the last event was behind our house with most of the neighborhood invited.... I honestly think I used up a good bit of my luck that night..... I did film it with two different cameras.... anybody who is interested can watch it on youtube: (disregard the 30 second intro)

the spectators view from the second camera at about 5 minutes is where I realized I had pushed the limits.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VlRoY3vzcas

 

[Mike J]

Fireworks used to be illegal here but they legalized them some years ago. I remember back in the 90's. My sister & her husband had just moved to the lake. My brother-in-law, his neighbor & I would each make a trip to Alabama to buy fireworks. There were stands just across the line. We would get out on his floating dock (about 10' x 10') & we would all set off everything we had at the same time. I remember dropping a dozen bottle rockets in a bottle, waving a propane torch underneath to light all the fuses then moving on to set something else off. It would usually take about an hour & a half for us to get through everything. Of course with all 3 of us on the dock lighting stuff I remember lighting a fuse while I heard something going off right behind my back. After about the 3rd year my brother-in-law said he didn't feel safe doing that anymore. It would always surprise me when we ran out of fireworks & we could hear the people in their boats out on the water clapping.

Edited to add: Saturday night my sister-in-law set them off at her place. We went over with the kids. Last night we rode down to Jackson & sat on the street outside the park where they did them & watched. We were going to go in the park earlier & let the kids experience the whole celebration but my younger girl reinjured her ankle playing soccer with her brother Friday so she wasn't up to a lot of walking. I take things a little easier these days.

 

[Pat-inCO]

The main objection that I have to the non-commercial displays are that the people
setting them off, in general, are not sober. As such, there are many people hurt
that could, easily, have not had that happen. :shock:

 

[daveg.inkc]

“De-Gloving” is a term firefighters use in reference to a severe hand wound due to stupidity with fireworks. I’ve read of men killed with mortars this July 4th.