Ooo... More Fireworks.

    One of the cool things about living in Milwaukee around this time of year is the sheer number of insane fireworks displays going on.  We just had a huge one last Thursday for the kick off of Summerfest, and tonight is another hour-long explosive event to celebrate America's Independence Day twenty-four hours early.

 

    Oddly, all of the shows are run by a single Italian family --The Bartolottas.  They do an awesome job.  And, I'm not just saying that because they may or may not have ties to the "waste management industry."  These guys seriously know what they're doing.   And this year, apparently they're planning on blasting some off of the roof of the tall building on the right in the picture. 

 

    The cool thing is that they do it all a day early so we citizens can congregate in our little neighborhood parks on the Fourth to watch our individual suburban enclaves put on whatever show our city budgets can afford.  My town's mostly blue-collar, so it's not terribly bad.  However, they've used the same ground display every year for the last thirty-plus years.  Fireworks boom in the sky while an American flag sparks to life in red, white and blue flames. 

 

    The best part is that I absolutely love the danger involved in my town's reasonably unprofessional little fireworks show.  It's like Beirut.  Everything you bring to the park --lawn-chairs, blankets, coolers, and clothes-- has to be disposable, and protective eyewear is a good idea.  After all, depending upon the summer breeze coming off Lake Michigan, there's a pretty good chance that a flaming hunk of shrapnel will tumble from the sky to incinerate your entire picnic spot.  I swear, no one's safe.  Several years ago, a misaligned mortar went shooting horizontally over the crowd to bounce off a Port-a-John and blow the living hell out of a poor, defenseless garbage can.  Heck of a shot that. 

 

    My town is seriously old-school about it too.  No electronic ignitions here.  It's pretty much pull out your Zippo, light the fuse and run like hell toward the guy holding the fire extinguisher while hoping for the best.  Sometimes, gravity may be a little thick in random spots, and the big, heavy ones just don't go up high enough before exploding.  But, like I said, we're blue-collar people.  We're used to brushing flaming things off our clothes and children as a result of working in factories and too many "take your kids to work" days.   

 

    Anyway, I'm looking forward to tomorrow.  It should be a good time with family and friends.  Of course, I'm also scared to death, but that that's all part of the glamour of the holiday here in South Milwaukee. 

 

    So, what are your plans for The Fourth?