There was a dark cloud approaching from the south as we headed out after lunch today. Were were going to see our new great-niece Daisy and then on to our buddy Steve's house to practice for an upcoming gig. I kept an eye on the horizon but as we drove we passed a family owned fireworks stand which they run out of a small metal building beside their house. There were a ton of folks milling around in the fireworks as we drove by. I thought to myself, you guys are going to see some real fireworks if a bolt of that lightening strikes too close to this lightning rod of a building in which you are standing. I hit the gas and got on by because that really wasn't something I cared to see.
I'm a little skittish of fireworks anyhow. I've mentioned before that I've had several close encounters of the explosive kind with fireworks.
When I was a kid my dad gave me a sparkler because he thought that would be safe enough for a small kid. I ran around like a chicken with its head cut off and then accidentally dropped the sparkler in some dry grass. Before you could say uh oh, it seemed like the world was on fire. It took my dad and several neighbors to put the fire out with pine tops before any serious damage was done. Then there was the issue at our Fourth of July gatherings where I got a bottle rocket down the back of my shorts which burned a blister on my butt.
I've shot fireworks since then, but I have a healthy respect for them...enough to know that when there is lightening in the area, it is not a good idea to hang around a metal building with a stash of fireworks big enough to blow a crater in the ground as big as Connecticut.
When we drove by tonight on our way home, there were still people hanging around and I didn't see any yellow tape cordoning off the area so I guess they lived to be foolish another day.
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