The Fourth

Tom was listening to CNN report that 70% of Americans under the age of 40 do not know what the Fourth of July is about or why we celebrate on this particular day of the year. So to test this statistic he asked the boys the question " when did we declare our Independence?". Sadly our boys fell into the 70% category.





This is after we spent thousands of dollars last year doing the East coast trip to see the Capital and visit Gettysburg on the Fourth of July weekend, no less. Tom started asking other questions regarding the revolution and the civil war, getting crankier by the minute. I will be doing some reviewing of our history with the boys. We need to get our time lines straight; Revolution, Civil War, World War I, World War II, Korean, Vietnam, Gulf War, Iraq, Afghanistan. Years and dates and reasons for these wars and the key battles.





Next year the boys will know why Daddy likes blowing up fireworks on the Fourth of July. Tom spent the day watching the Military channel and the History Channel making sure he had his knowledge.





Tom had his usual array of fireworks. I had given him a budget and he had doubled it. He had also gone to the Indian Reservation where the price is half what you get at the local stands. Needless to say when we brought the pile down to the street for demolition time, the neighbors where appropriately impressed. Tom got the response he wanted.





I had the bucket of water ready. My next door neighbor brought out her hose and pretended to water the plants, ready to put out any flames in her yard just in case. I also brought down the garbage cans while it was still light out so clean up would be convenient and swift.
I threw a blanket over the boxes both to protect them from falling hot sparks and in case the police did a drive by, as we were pretty much sending out flares announcing here we are, come arrest us for illegal fireworks display. Tom said I was paranoid, and I was.




At the end of the performance I had everyone dunk the empty "cakes" into the water to make sure they wouldn't ignite in the garbage, in case they were smoldering. Clean up was easy this year. Tom's budget was half of what it normally is due to the move. We didn't want any left overs and Tom didn't buy any junk fireworks. He lit them all. No police came by. The neighbors loved the display. It was probably just as big a show as the city put on due to budget constraints and what we have seen in previous years. Tom knows his fireworks. He also likes to light off several cakes at the same time. Each cake may have six or more mortars in them. He said he forgot the Saturn cake at the reservation. That one can do 60 to 150 depending on it's size.

I prefer the fountains, the ones that sparkle on the ground. The year the Titanic movie came out there was a great fountain for $15 that lasted a good five to ten minutes with spouts of sparkles out of the stacks. Then the windows all lit up and the ship burst into flame at the end. It was really incredible and lasted a long time.

Tom thought he had bought a box of fountains for me, but when they were lit, every one of them ended up shooting into the air. I guess Washington state's version of a fountain is the shape of the firework display in the sky, not that it stays on the ground. Tom swore the guy told him it was a box of fountains.


Bucky was under the bed when we came inside, quite content to hide out from the chaos. When I went to sleep in my room, instantly all the animals crawled into bed with me. Tom was still wound up so he finished watching another history of war program on TV before he came to bed.

I am not going to buy the half price sales of fireworks the day after this year. I don't want to have to move fireworks. Usually I pick up a few to light off for Tom's birthday. But Oregon doesn't even have any that would pass Tom's critical eye as worthy.

I am antsy to hear news on the house. No news or calls yet.