Things that make you go Boom

"Today is the fourth of July. Another June has gone by. And when they light up our town all I think is what a waste of gunpowder and sky." Aimee Mann

There are a couple of those things that little boys due or are fascinated with that I just never got into. Whether this says something about me as a person that I was more interested in reading a book that collecting frogs I am not sure. I usually just leave it that I am not your typical person. That doesn't mean that I am better or worse. I just don't think that I am average.

One of those things that I never got into was firecrackers. Sure, I enjoyed going to see the big professional shows and have some wonderful childhood memories of sitting with my family and watching the fireworks. What I am talking about are those people who go to the roadside stands and buy box after box of firecrackers of dubious origin. In KC I knew that we were nearing the fourth when this one stand would mysteriously appear overnight in a parking lot with poorly worded signs amongst the plywood walls. I never could grasp the legality of it all but every year it would be there for a week or so before disappearing into the night.

As you can probably fathom I was never one of the people who would go in there to purchase fireworks. To be honest I don't believe that I have ever lit a firecracker in my life. I may have held a sparkler at one point but that might have been it. I've just never seen the point of the whole enterprise. You pay money to light something and it goes boom. That is it. Sure it my fly into the air and go boom or let off some additional colors but that is it. All you are doing is paying for something to go boom and I could never quite grasp the importance of this. Yes, as a guy I understand the awesomeness of things going boom and a large majority of my mass entertainment budget is dedicated to such an event. But in my own backyard I never saw the need to risk my fingers to vaguely celebrate the nation's birthday.

But at least I got a long weekend out of the holiday even if I have to deal with the pomp and circumstance in the process. In response to those wondering about my tenth resolution I guess from my comment that I was a little vague as to whether or not I had fully accomplished the resolution. Let's just say that I am two thirds of the way through it. No, I'm not married or engaged. Just in a relationship that has resulted in a new persona that I am slowly growing accustomed to: Happy Chris. Every day I look in the mirror and smile thinking about how lucky I am. I don't want that ever to change.

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