Professionally provided.
With three days to set things off, somebody somewhere is going to hurt themself. Or, worse yet, send a bottle rocket or another home firework off into the good night and have it land and turn somebody else’s holiday weekend into a nightmare.
For my July Fourth Weekend edition of my Mark It Up community column for Syracuse Public media site waer.org, I decided to take a somewhat precautionary tone before launching into a list of where my Central New York brethren can go to watch the professionals set off really big fireworks displays high into the air with, I would assume, safety rules and regulations firmly in place.
You can read it by clicking the link below.
http://waer.org/post/bombs-bursting-air-weekend-be-careful-or-leave-it-pros
Of course, people will take the holiday and the freedoms it stands for quite to heart and decide to light firecrackers and cherry bombs or M80s on their own.
Me? No. I went through a short phase as a kid, which I covered here last year. Many of us have, I’m sure.
Now I prefer to go with my dear wife Karen to watch the colorful displays like the one pictured above, which I caught with my iPhone 6 after a Syracuse Chiefs game at NBT Bank Stadium.
So I leave you on the Third with these words. Have fun. Eat. Drink. Start Monday with 20 digits.
Do you fashion home fireworks displays, and if so, what sort? Have you seen home displays go awry, and if so, how? What are your fireworks plans for this weekend?
Mark Bialczak 
I’ve seen several injuries due to home fireworks gone awry, thankfully never on anyone I know personally. Unfortunately here where I live, it almost always rains out the fireworks every year.
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Florida summer temperament with the downpours, I guess, Rachel. Sorry you had to witness home firework accidents. Yikes.
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Good to remind everyone to be careful and considerate, Mark.
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Just doing my thing, Robin. Thank you. 🙂
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By the way, I’m seeing you guys celebrate something on 4th July. What exactly is it?
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We are celebrating Independence Day. It’s the day our forefathers signed the Declaration of Independence, saying the 13 colonies would become a new country, free from tjhe rule of the English Empire. The day was July 4, 1776, Shooby Doo.
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Oh, yeah, of course! We had a chapter on American war of independence in the 10th grade! 😛
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Did you know we have a festival called diwali during November when we light up diyas and burst lots of crackers? It’s kind of a religious celebration. It’s beautiful. But at the same time, it gets too noisy after a point of time. And also increases the pollution in the air. So I didn’t burst crackers and fireworks last diwali.
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Smart to stay out of the way during Diwali, Shooby Doo, and to cut down on the air pollution as well.
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Yeah! 🙂
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I stopped with the fireworks after my kids grew up.But I still like watching them. Hope you have a happy and safe 4th of July.
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Thanks, Benson. Have a great holiday out there in Indianapolis, my friend.
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Great advice Mark – Happy and safe 4th of July to you and all my American friends in the blogosphere! ❤
Diana xo
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Thanks, Diana. I hope you had a great Canada Day just passed. I missed wishing you well, Dagnabbit. 😦
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I have seen several fireworks oopses:
(1) Two fires started in the woods by an amateur home display, two years running. Both safely doused by the trucks standing by. No more home displays by that amateur.
(2) One friend’s teen with burns and stitches after holding a larger firecracker while lighting it. It blew faster than expected.
(3) One son burned by a metal sparkler piece fallen down inside his sock, after then-husband and in-laws pooh-poohed this Babe saying “They’re too young for those.” (Two and three years old.)
(4) One Babe badly burned on Guy Fawkes Day in England as a 10-year-old by a fun firework called a Jumping Jack. Accordion-folded to leap unpredictably about, it leapt up inside and down the long sleeve of my winter coat, burning the whole way.
Good times!! (I do enjoy fireworks, though.)
😀
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You are the poster girl for Don’t Light These at Home, Babe.
Awful. Sorry you suffered or saw each of them.
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Golly, Mark–re-reading these this morning, I realize I had better stay far he h#ll away from all flammable items! Never notice before my Luck Magnet status extended to those, or had started so early in life!
😮
Maybe I can found a retirement career company: “Demolitions From a Distance”.
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Yikes R Us.
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That works.
😀
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MANY years ago my father used to do fireworks for us. He was always very cautious. Nowadays we go to the ‘shows’ if we want to see them. Not sure if I’ll even catch them myself this weekend. 🙂 By the time the biking is done I’m nearly asleep on the tires. 🙂
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Get those miles in on the road, MBC, for that is your joy! Happy Holiday Weekend. ❤
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Thank you MBM!!!! AND we saw fireworks last night!!! Win/Win. 🙂
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Yay and yay, MBC!
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Happy 4th… to you! I agree with you….! 20 digits for me!
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I had a feeling you would tend to let the others light them so you could keep your fingers to push the shutter button, Nancy. Too important, and you are too wise. Happy Fourth, my friend. ❤
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Safety comes first I sort of like sparklers myself? Hee-Hee Have a wonderful 4th. The Gatorette.
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I liked sparklers when I was a piker, Gatorette. Even the smell of burned ones. We’d light them off of cinder embers on a stick we called punks. 🙂
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Punks aka catty nine tails…I love sparklers Mark, yes I do…
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That’s it. Catty nine tails. You are very smart, Gatorette. Thanks for teaching me a new term!
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Well remember I have northern parents and southern raised nice combo don’t you think?! Terp?!
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That’s exactly what I think, Gatorette. Nice combo. I may start calling you Maon Dixon, in fact. ❤
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Ah no I like Gatorette better!
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I defer to your preference, m’lady. Gatorette forever. 🙂
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Si Senor!
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Happy 4th July Mark.
No fireworks here, I’m glad to say.
However, our big excuse to terrorise wildlife, livestock and family pets is round November 5th. That’s when the dogs and I head for the remoter parts of the UK to avoid the flashes and bangs. Though there are some restrictions in the UK the sale of fireworks to private individuals round November 5th is not illegal and the bangs and flashes in the streets round that time are terrifying for my dogs. really wish they could be banned altogether.
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Our previous rescue dog, Lissa, was terrified of this holiday bang, Roy. She hid the whole time as the neighborhood shook with fireworks. Thankfully, Ellie B doesn’t take ill to the racket. Sorry to hear that your beloveds hate the noise on Nov. 5, and you must flee to quieter grounds. That’s not good.
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it has its compensations – a reason to spend couple of weeks at the tail end of autumn, my favourite season, far away from it all, with my furry friends
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Yes, terrified of people setting off illegal fireworks. I have such a horrific 4th of July tragedy, I’d rather not repeat it.
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Sorry you went through something that awful, Marissa. Very sorry.
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I was more of a witness. It was still pretty haunting.
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We already have stories of people losing fingers and other injuries and it isn’t even the big day yet. It’s been really noisy here the past few days spooking the cats… more so than usual. Seems like the more stern the warnings become the more these “people” want to tempt fate. Two nights ago I was woken up by a particularly loud explosion at 3:00am. I live less than two blocks from a creek and these idiots love to go down there to set up off their illegal fireworks. This year I decided to stay home and enjoy the professional displays from my deck. Last weekend I was able to see the display from Santa Monica College… so tomorrow I’m hoping I can see the one from West LA College and others all around. No need to leave home! Have a safe 4th!
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Enjoy the free shows from your lovely deck, Ros, the safe and sound decision. Happy Fourth in LA, my friend. 🙂
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We go to our daughter and son-in-law’s home to celebrate, but SD Gates is right we’ll have to be extra careful with our fireworks this year, which is a norm for us anyway.
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Yes, this dry year warrants much care, Dora, but I do suspect that you and your family are the safe sorts always. Happy Fourth, my California friend.
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I wish you and yours a happy and joyful holiday Mark.
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And to you, to, my good friend in Canada. I missed wishing you a great Canada Day, so belated wishes there!
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I am a bit worried about what will happen around here. They are selling fireworks this year which I find surprisingly idiotic. With all the “don’t frown on brown” lawns, it isn’t going to take to start a fire – with everything being so incredibly dry. Hope you have a Happy Fourth of July!!!!!!
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That is a quite a legitimate fear, S.D. I’m hoping for a safe and fire-free weekend in your neighborhood along with you. Oy.
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Thank-you Mark and same to you – the safe part, you guys probably don’t need to worry about the fire part as it seems it is quite moist out there with all the rain you have had.
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