Firecrackers Vs. Fireworks

JB and I were starting to believe that all firecrackers were illegal in California. We were looking to buy some sparklers (and by "we" I mean "me" - JB was very patient and allowed me to drag him all over the greater southern California area on Saturday) and finally we found some in Pasadena in a little booth on the side of the road. I remember, as a kid, buying sparklers in the grocery store. They were everywhere. You could be a hermit and have no access to media of any kind and go into the grocery store and know it was the Forth of July because of the sparklers on display.

Anyhoo, we got our sparklers, along with some firecrackers. As soon as we bought the firecrackers I started to worry. Where are we going to light them? What if they start a fire? Can we light them in our patio? HELL NO - not with the propane tank sitting right there ready to blow a crater in the concrete. And the parking lot - which was JB's calm suggestion - seemed to me like a terrifying alternative. What if we disturbed the condo-folks? Or marked the pavement? Or set the building on fire?! What if the police came and arrested us!? I mean, if it's THIS HARD to buy fireworks, they must be illegal, right?

The big day arrived. We got the firecrackers and a long-handled lighter. I contemplated bringing the fire extinguisher which we bought when we brought the grill into our lives. Decided against it. We tamely lit our little 2-foot fountains in the parking lot armed with water bottles prepared to drench any out of control sparks while our neighbors launched aerial fireworks hundreds of feet into the air over our heads. Yeah, I'm thinking we were probably low on the police priority list.

In other news, I am impressed by the large quantities of what must be truly expensive fireworks that our neighbors can afford to blow up in the sky over our condo.