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Red, White & Blue

I managed to get some cookies baked last night after it had cooled down a little. I'll finish this morning. I make red, white & blue sugar cookies that have their share of fans at the picnic. I haven't counted but it may be 5 dozen this year.

Many years ago I was at my aunt & uncle's place in Orange County for our annual 4th of July gathering. This particular year, my uncle let his 3 sons set up the backyard fireworks display. Thus begins the tale of 3 stooges!!! If you've been in California for a long time, you may remember that "backyard" fireworks were the thing to do. They were sold in big variety boxes. So, when the sun went down, one cousin (maybe Tom?) went to light the first set fireworks. The boys had set it all up along the back yard fence, left to right. The first attempt fizzled. So, I think Bill went over to light the spinning wheel which set off sparks to start whatever was next to it. A rocket was spun upside down and took off across the yard, with Bill on hands & knees crawling frantically away from the line of fire, being chased by a rocket!!! The spectator section was laughing enough to induce tears & my aunt was yelling at Bill to get out of the way as the rocket was heading straight for his ass!! I think the rocket ended up slamming into the ground. Anyway, the display was set up in an orderly fashion, meaning that each item was right next to the one before. Once the spinning wheel was lit, the show moved in a very rapid left to right arc, ending in a burning bush finale. This bush was on the other side of the fence! It was the neighbor's property!

Writing this took much longer than the entire fireworks display took to entertain us. It may have been less than a minute. I hurt from laughing. All that money for a few seconds of entertainment. It was shortly after this incident that the ban on fireworks was initiated, City by City and then Statewide. FYI, there are no photos of the glorious event in Fullerton. It happened so fast!!

There will be many emergency room visits tomorrow, with the usual injuries to hands of folks doing something 'stupid'. Firecrackers combined with teenagers are the culprit in most cases. Watch out for those sparklers. Many a child has held one for a few minutes, got bored or just didn't want it, dropped it on the ground, followed closely by someone stepping on it (bare feet, of course). So, be aware, be careful and be sure to have a bucket of icewater on hand.

HAPPY FOURTH OF JULY

So long

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Reader 1st place writing contest winner gets kudos

2nd place winner not so much

I managed to get some cookies baked last night after it had cooled down a little. I'll finish this morning. I make red, white & blue sugar cookies that have their share of fans at the picnic. I haven't counted but it may be 5 dozen this year.

Many years ago I was at my aunt & uncle's place in Orange County for our annual 4th of July gathering. This particular year, my uncle let his 3 sons set up the backyard fireworks display. Thus begins the tale of 3 stooges!!! If you've been in California for a long time, you may remember that "backyard" fireworks were the thing to do. They were sold in big variety boxes. So, when the sun went down, one cousin (maybe Tom?) went to light the first set fireworks. The boys had set it all up along the back yard fence, left to right. The first attempt fizzled. So, I think Bill went over to light the spinning wheel which set off sparks to start whatever was next to it. A rocket was spun upside down and took off across the yard, with Bill on hands & knees crawling frantically away from the line of fire, being chased by a rocket!!! The spectator section was laughing enough to induce tears & my aunt was yelling at Bill to get out of the way as the rocket was heading straight for his ass!! I think the rocket ended up slamming into the ground. Anyway, the display was set up in an orderly fashion, meaning that each item was right next to the one before. Once the spinning wheel was lit, the show moved in a very rapid left to right arc, ending in a burning bush finale. This bush was on the other side of the fence! It was the neighbor's property!

Writing this took much longer than the entire fireworks display took to entertain us. It may have been less than a minute. I hurt from laughing. All that money for a few seconds of entertainment. It was shortly after this incident that the ban on fireworks was initiated, City by City and then Statewide. FYI, there are no photos of the glorious event in Fullerton. It happened so fast!!

There will be many emergency room visits tomorrow, with the usual injuries to hands of folks doing something 'stupid'. Firecrackers combined with teenagers are the culprit in most cases. Watch out for those sparklers. Many a child has held one for a few minutes, got bored or just didn't want it, dropped it on the ground, followed closely by someone stepping on it (bare feet, of course). So, be aware, be careful and be sure to have a bucket of icewater on hand.

HAPPY FOURTH OF JULY

So long

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