My Childhood: Fourth Of July

A few weeks before the fourth, those tacky little fireworks stands pop up from nowhere. One day there is nothing, the next day, these ugly little plywood structures pop up all over the place, as if alien spaceships had delivered them during the night.

I remember the whole family would go to one of those stands, and we’d carefully examine all of the fireworks. My dad would read the instructions on each and every firecracker, sparkler and smoke bomb, to make sure there was no danger to his family.

We’d usually wind up picking out a big box which contained a wide election of different fireworks. That and a few boxes of sparklers. We always purchased lots of sparklers.

We’d wait for the fourth before we used our fireworks. I remember carefully reading the instructions, trying to figure out exactly what each magical firework would do.

Finally, the fourth arrived. We’d usually have a barbecue, eating and talking until darkness arrived. When the sun disappeared, dad would bring out the box of fireworks. Before opening the box, however, he’d always give us a little speech, "Be careful with these", he’d say. "They can hurt you, or take out an eye, or burn down the whole house. Don’t do anything stupid with them!"

Dad always unrolled the hose and turned on the water, which would remain running until we were finished with all the fireworks. This way, if a fire did start, we would be prepared to put it out immediately.

We’d begin by lighting off the big ones - the roman candles. These were great, shooting off huge spurts of flame. Then we’d light the screamers, which were similar to the roman candles only they screamed (of course). Then came all of the other miscellaneous fireworks - sparklers, smoke bombs, those little wheels of fire, and many more whose names escape me.

We did this every year for years, until, one year, my dad decided it was unsafe. After that, we went to fireworks shows such as the one at the Orange Show Grounds. These were very spectacular, but something was missing. I think my parents forgot that the fireworks were not what made the fourth of July exciting - it was the chance for the whole family to get together, fire up the barbecue and simply play.