Re: “Benbow fireworks and party off”

Fireworks do seem like more problems than joy over time. The color and excitement are great fun. And things that go bang! have their appeal. But mostly I have enjoyed them for the way they function to draw people in to big celebratory gatherings. Sitting on the lawn with all your neighbors, those you know and those you don't. Going "oooh" and "aaaah" in unison as you share a little rare excitement. Pretty cool in ways.

Buut... (there's always a but these days, isn't there?) they cause a huge number of fires, injuries, lost and hurt animals, and the reason they're so colorful I suspect is all the metals in them that make them so. That junk can't be all that great in quantities. I imagine that's not a huge factor in small communities like this. But the big shows in big cities have got to start to add up, chemistry-wise.

We should try to think of something else to draw folks together and go "oooh" and "aaah" and sit around on blankets in the grass with our friends and neighbors, and laugh.

Let the ridicule begin... ;-)