I grew up in a day when a kid could be a kid, and parents were trusted to watch out for their little ones. If you got hurt, mom or dad would clean you up, wipe your eyes and then tell you not to do that again. The thought of suing a company because you got hurt while playing with their product never crossed their minds. We climbed trees, rode our bikes in the street - with no helmets, we rode in the back of station wagons and trucks - with no seat belt and on the 4th of July we were handed sizzling metal rods, with which we wrote our names in the night sky. It was magical.
Many of the fun things from my childhood have changed. I'm no longer carefree or limber enough to climb trees. When riding a bike you are suppose to wear a helmet. "Click it or Ticket" makes me a seat belt fanatic. But when it comes to the 4th of July, it's still like I remember it. OK, the sparklers aren't as good as they were when I was growing up, but the rest of it is still fun. I LOVE the LOUD pops, and flashing sparks and the SMELL. Call me crazy but I LOVE the smell of fireworks. Especially Piccolo Pete's.
It has been our tradition for 11 years now, to hold the Piccolo Pete 500. The first year, it wasn't actually a race. It was one firework brought back from Oregon. A little car with one Piccolo Pete sticking out the back. That's all it took, and the rest is history.
I was a little worried this year about our 4th of July race. Many cities have banned the sell of Piccolo Pete's. I wasn't worried about having enough for 'engines' (we have bought them by the case in years past)... I was worried about the legality of the race. Thank goodness we hold our race in Garden Grove, CA, where fireworks still reign supreme! I'll have to send a thank you note to the City Council.
I do understand that fireworks can be dangerous, but so is drinking and driving. If you are stupid enough to drink and drive, then you probably lack the intelligence to safely handle fireworks. Some people are just stupid, but I don't think we all are. So why do our city governments want to punish all of us? Come to think of it, alcohol is more dangerous than fireworks, why not ban beer? Oh yeah, it has to do with money. The root of all evil isn't it? I guess fireworks don't generate enough money to make a difference to city governments (alcohol sales are a different story).
And while I'm on my soapbox, lets talk about parents. If society has a problem with minors - why don't they talk to the parents? Everything starts in the home.
But I digress....how did this start? Oh yeah, I had a great childhood. And today, thanks to Garden Grove, I was able to relive a little of it.
