No! to Backyard Fireworks

[DanaC]

I hate fireworks. They make deeply uneasy, and always have. I remember as a kid, the only fireworks I was truly comfortable with were sparklers.....and that was only because you could write your name in the dark with them...

I was always slightly afraid of the potential dangers of fireworks, possibly in part picked up from my mum, who was also a statistic :p Very occasionally we'd go to a friend's bonfire.....I loved the fire, the potatoes, the black peas and bonfire toffee.....hated the fireworks. Most years we stuck to 'indoor fireworks' :P

Now as an adult I hate them even more. They wind the dog up and make being outside feel slightly unsafe.

[xoxoxoBruce]

Originally Posted by DanaC

I hate fireworks. They make deeply uneasy, and always have. I remember as a kid, the only fireworks I was truly comfortable with were sparklers.....and that was only because you could write your name in the dark with them...

I was always slightly afraid of the potential dangers of fireworks, possibly in part picked up from my mum, who was also a statistic :p Very occasionally we'd go to a friend's bonfire.....I loved the fire, the potatoes, the black peas and bonfire toffee.....hated the fireworks. Most years we stuck to 'indoor fireworks' :P

Now as an adult I hate them even more. They wind the dog up and make being outside feel slightly unsafe.

Dana, couldn't you substitute guns for fireworks, and make the same statement? I posit it's fear of the unknown, because you have never learned how to handle them and how you really have to screw up to get hurt.
Granted, they do wind up the dogs.

[monster]

Originally Posted by xoxoxoBruce

Dana, couldn't you substitute guns for fireworks, and make the same statement? :

beest and I made a similar comparison this evening. Michigan law only allows fireworks that don't leave the ground. The first party we were at, they were setting them off on a metal tray on a plastic box at the end of the driveway, about 3 feet from the watchhing kids. And a 10 year old was lighting them. We were very apprehensive (and made our kids stand much further back).

The second party was illegal imported fireworks (we're near several borders) (although the rumor is he has a "permit" -certainly, no police bothered us). The crowd were a good way back, they were lit sensibly -at arms length with proper illumination, and we loved them, but most of the locals were nervous and sure they would injure someone because they were "illegal", and were all paranoid about falling hot ash because they were up in the air. We posited that is must be similar to UK/US difference in firearms laws, in that if the law says it's OK then it must be safe, but if it says it's not... eeeeek!

[footfootfoot]

Originally Posted by DanaC

Most years we stuck to 'indoor fireworks' :P

Apart from the Elvis Costello song, is there any other meaning to indoor fireworks. I know there are some displays which are done in an arena, but you aren't talking about that...

[dar512]

Originally Posted by DanaC

the only fireworks I was truly comfortable with were sparklers

That's funny because sparklers are the kind that make me the most uneasy. Those wires get really hot. And people hand them to little kids who generally aren't very careful where they're waving them about.

[glatt]

My daughter burned me with a sparkler on Friday. Not bad enough to leave a mark, but a glowing sparkle dropped on my bare foot and burned me between my toes.

I'll live.

But I have seen a little kid (not mine) touch the glowing part of the wire after the sparkler goes out. Curiosity killed the cat.

[BigV]

Originally Posted by dar512

That's funny because sparklers are the kind that make me the most uneasy. Those wires get really hot. And people hand them to little kids who generally aren't very careful where they're waving them about.

Originally Posted by glatt

My daughter burned me with a sparkler on Friday. Not bad enough to leave a mark, but a glowing sparkle dropped on my bare foot and burned me between my toes.

I'll live.

But I have seen a little kid (not mine) touch the glowing part of the wire after the sparkler goes out. Curiosity killed the cat.

City slicker passing through country village stops at local blacksmith. CS watches as LB hammers out a horseshoe, heating, hammering, heating, hammering, transforming a straight iron rod into the iconic horseshoe curve. At the end of this process, LB holds the horseshoe up for one final visual inspection then tosses it into a bin full of sawdust. Curious, CS reaches down and picks up the still hot horseshoe, and immediately drops it back into the bin.

"Burn your hand?" asks LB.

"No, it just doesn't take me long to check out a horseshoe." replies CS.