Fireworks

I feel like we are under attack.

Fireworks - at least the big aerial ones - are illegal in most communities that we've lived in. But not here. Readily available, they appear to be purchased by the thousands by our neighbors - who have been shooting them off at at constant rate for the past 2 hours. Since it is early yet, and barely dark, I imagine they will continue on for a while yet. There is hardly a lull of over 2 seconds at any time between pops or bangs, so when I say 'by the thousands' you can take that quite literally. I can count 9 'launch points' from the houses within a block or so of our house, just from my perspective in the back yard alone. Judging by the booms, there are dozens more pyrotechnic lunatics within a 1/4 mile radius.

Our house is surrounded by huge cedars so all we get to see clearly is what goes up very high - and that is probably at least 20% of them - big flashing boomers that I would have thought to be only available to 'specialists' putting on a big municipal show of some sort. But no - apparently they let anyone have them. What we don't see high in the sky, we see in bright flashes of light. The air is heavy with smoke and sulfur. There is debris in the yard.

And poor Maddie is quivering under the bed.

Mark wants to go up on the roof, he says, "to return fire."

It's going to be a long night. Silly stuff.

Hope your 4th of July was 'fun' as well.