This is a sorry excuse for a fireworks picture…some photographer I am. But I chose this one to illustrate a point. This, way up in the sky, “professional pyrotechnic” looking firework was purchased by one of us non-pyrotechnic people. This illustrates the difference between the “safe and sane” fireworks that are the only available option to Nevadans and Californians. Safe and sane fireworks are the only kind of fireworks I have ever had.
What constitutes “safe and sane” you may ask? Well, they are usually a “shower of sparks” that shoot up from the firework no more that 8 feet.
The stuff they are selling on the streets of North Dakota are equivalent to the stuff pyrotechnicians set up to be timed with orchestras, or shot off the roofs of casinos…only the stuff in ND has a “report” noise accompanying what goes up in the air, making it sound like a cannon going off.
I was absolutely blown away, no pun intended, by the stuff we were shooting off. I’ve only ever seen stuff like this at concerts, casinos, or Dodger Stadium…however, the whole “report” (shooting cannon noise) had given me a whopping headache by the end of the night! Uffda! The down side to these “shot high in air” fireworks was that that stuff has to come down once it burns out and a lot of times it ended up in your hair! Thankfully it wasn’t much more than cold ash by the time it landed!
The three “boys” (I use the term loosely), pictured here (L-R Friend Mason, nephew Jake, and Brother-in-Law Kenny), felt the need to shoot Roman Candles at each other. Not the smartest thing ever done, but thankfully, the only casualty were a few of Mason’s cheek whiskers. Once again, not the smartest thing ever done.
For those of you unfamiliar with Roman Candles, it’s about a 12″ long, 1″ in diameter tube that you light at one end and it shoots out sparks and colored balls of some blazingly hot substance…they are not meant to be “shot” at others, but as they say, boys will be boys. I say, “Sure, it’s all funny until someone gets hurt”. And David wonders why I won’t let him join in. David was pretty pissed at me, all the way around, by the end of the night because his mother actually uses the brain cells between her ears and says NO YOU CAN’T SHOOT A ROMAN CANDLE AT ANYONE! LOL! It didn’t help that David was exhausted.
This tank was the only thing David really wanted from the fireworks shop. What is it with boys and playing Army? Anyway, David was going to save this one for the very last encore, but couldn’t wait. He was not disappointed! He set it in the middle of the street and first it propelled itself down the road a bit, then it shot sparks out of the cannon, and then the turret spun around in a shower of sparks. Ultimately, if I remember correctly, it blew itself up in the end. David thought it was really cool! LOL
It was a nice 4th, spent laughing, oohing, and aahhing with family and good friends. Can’t ask for much more than that!
Filed under: Holidays, North Dakota
Glad to see you are finding ways to incorporate Uffda! into your every day language. You are beconing a real North Dakotan.