And the fireworks begin.

[Ronni]

We tolerate the booms and bangs of the 4th. The dogs aren’t very happy but we all deal. Don’t wanna be a party pooper after all. 2 of our three dogs manage ok. The old man, Racer, who’s 14, freaks out. It takes days for me to recover from being in our closet with Racer, lying down, arms wrapped around him on the hardwood floor, attempting to keep him calm while the neighborhood fireworks rock n roll.

THEN at around 4.00 am some neighbor (prolly inebriated or high) decided to set off MORE, .. I slept through it all, but which woke Ron up and disturbed poor Racer.

When I woke for the day at 6.30 am, Ron and Racer were both sleeping soundly, but the den floor was filled with ..ugh.. puke from Racer who freaked out at the early morning fireworks, AND footprints through it (Ron who thought he was being helpful letting Racer out in the wee hours, completely unaware that he was trekking through Racer’s vomit!)

UGH. Welcome to my Independence Day aftermath.

 

[MarciKS]

I like to see a nice fireworks display on the 4th, but when the fireworks drag on for days, they become a bit irritating. Anymore, I just watch a fireworks show on TV....it's usually way too hot to stand around outdoors for hours.

They used to let them set them off here for a week at a time. I think they finally got enough complaints they put a stop to it.

 

[MarciKS]

We tolerate the booms and bangs of the 4th. The dogs aren’t very happy but we all deal. Don’t wanna be a party pooper after all. 2 of our three dogs manage ok. The old man, Racer, who’s 14, freaks out. It takes days for me to recover from being in our closet with Racer, lying down, arms wrapped around him on the hardwood floor, attempting to keep him calm while the neighborhood fireworks rock n roll.

THEN at around 4.00 am some neighbor (prolly inebriated or high) decided to set off MORE, .. I slept through it all, but which woke Ron up and disturbed poor Racer.

When I woke for the day at 6.30 am, Ron and Racer were both sleeping soundly, but the den floor was filled with ..ugh.. puke from Racer who freaked out at the early morning fireworks, AND footprints through it (Ron who thought he was being helpful letting Racer out in the wee hours, completely unaware that he was trekking through Racer’s vomit!)

UGH. Welcome to my Independence Day aftermath.

Awwwww the poor doggies!

 

[Warrigal]

I believe it was John Adams who called for fireworks to celebrate our independence. The Founding Fathers weren't exactly a fun bunch, but once in a while they did cut loose.

I don't like neighborhood fireworks, and every dog I ever owned was terrified of them. But I do like the big fireworks displays. I wish they'd outlaw the neighborhood kind and keep the others.

That's how it is in Sydney now. When I was a child we always had a backyard bonfire with crackers (our name for fireworks). On cracker night (*** Empire Day, celebrating Queen Victoria's birthday) there were so many bonfires that the smoke generated caused Mascot airport to be closed. The EMDs at the hospitals were very busy treating burns and eye injuries.

Nowadays a permit must be obtained to organise a fireworks event and Sydney has a world class event centred on the Harbour and community organisations host smaller more local events. Much better for everyone.

***Talk about an anachronism. Both Queen Vic and the empire were long since dead and buried by then.