It's definitely an odd time to celebrate or wish happiness on anyone, considering the state of the world right now. Even in the lowest, darkest of times, there is still usually something that we're grateful for or that can put a smile on your face.
The 4th has never really been a big holiday for me. I certainly loved it as a kid though! Fireworks were legal in the beach cities where I grew up well after they were deemed illegal in most CA counties. My favorite fireworks were snakes and Chinese flowers. Still are. I was able to get my hands on some snakes when I visited my Mom in Virginia last 4th of July which gave me a thrill. I don't know why I like them so much. All they are is a tiny box of round black tabs, kind of like what you put between your cabinet doors to keep them from slamming. Soon as you touch a flame or "punk" to one, they burst forth this stream of ashy black substance that curls and rolls around on the ground. They go out in seconds and then you're left with this nasty looking black snake skin that as soon as you touch or try to clean up immediately poofs into a damn mess that stains the concrete and never goes away.
My other favorite, Chinese flowers, you can't buy anymore. Frankly you shouldn't have been able to buy them in the fucking 80's or 90's either. They're awesome and dangerous as shit. They looked like mini M-80's with a small fuse. You're supposed to put them out in the street and light em. Once lit, the flower gives off a pretty hard kick causing it to spin and dance around the ground making a cool and colorful flower effect. While safe and pretty that process was boring as shit, so my family came up with a different method. We would light them with one hand while holding the flower in the other, allowing the fuse to burn for a few seconds, and then fling them into the air as hard as we could. As kids that wasn't very high, so these things would come launching back at us or spin up higher into the air and inevitably land onto one of the neighbor's roof. How we didn't burn the block down or blow a finger off each year was a 4th of July miracle.
And I'm not even detailing here all the illegal fireworks my uncles would pick up and bring back from Mexico on their trips across the border to surf and steal lobsters. Let's just say local firework displays held ZERO interest for my pyro-centric family. Aiming bottle rockets underneath people's chairs was common and safety was almost certainly third...or fifth. After having just typed that line, I can see why I like Burning Man so much. Saying "safety third" is fairly common, with fires and explosions a typical occurrence as the event culminates into the man burn - a massive firework display and ball of fire that can literally singe your eyebrow hairs off if you're sitting too close.
Fun fact - apparently Chinese flowers are now called "Ground Bloom Flowers." Awesome.
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