Blowing Up All Over

Okay, I was all for the ban on Piccolo Petes – those damn things scare/annoy the crap out of me on a regular basis for the entire first week of July. But ground bloomers? I just read in the paper that ground bloomers have also been banned. That sucks. I like the whizzing sound they make as the spin across the asphalt changing colors. I can see how they are dangerous though. Many a time I have seen one hit a small stone and suddenly dart beneath a parked car. I guess I’m stupid cuz I would always stand there holding my breath waiting for the car to explode. None of them ever did. I wonder if a car ever exploded from a ground bloomer?

The ban on these fireworks comes following the death of Raymond Reilly last year. Three “men” down the street from him decided it would be a good idea to blow up a watermelon. Shrapnel flew 74 feet and hit Raymond in the heart. (Talk about being in the wrong place at the wrong time.) Fire Chief Ron Fraze said they confiscated around 40 homemade bombs and that many more where exploded. According to him, “Last year it looked like Beirut out there.” That explains why there was so much smoke in the air the next day.

The funny thing is the ban really isn’t going to do anything except send all the people who would have bought the fireworks in town to the county stands. And, as Ryne Conder from Phantom fireworks pointed out, tampering with fireworks is already a federal law and “people who will ignore a federal law aren’t going to worry much about a municipal one.” Good point Ryne.

Why doesn’t the county ban the fireworks too? Then there would be no problem. I guess that just makes too much sense.