I hope you all had a wonderful 4th of July. As I'm sure many of you surmised, I took the holiday off from 3WW. It will return next week.
These are the dog days of summer. No, they really are, literally. At least for those of us in the northern hemisphere, here on planet Earth.
I did enjoy the day off of work on Wednesday. Three day weekends are nice, but I think I could really get used to a four-day work week with every Wednesday off. Think about it. You'd work two days, be off one, work two days, be off two. It breaks up the monotony quite nicely. Monday would feel like Thursday. It's almost like not working at all. Let's see about getting that instituted.
This morning, I took my car to a trusted mechanic just to have it checked out. I have a few road trips upcoming, including the beach in eight days and Bama football games this fall. He said everything looked fine. So it wound up being $40. Forty dollars for peace of mind. If only I could bottle that up.
I spent much of Tuesday night and Wednesday at my sister's. She had two cookouts. The festivities included seeing my Dad get into a swimming pool for the first time in probably twenty years or more. That was both kinda cool and a bit odd.
Meanwhile, with no regard for my virgin skin, the summer sun turned my milky white back to bright shades of pinkish red. This happened after I decided to experiment with some SPF 4 sunscreen, as opposed to my usual SPF 15. I guess those numbers really do mean something after all.
As we were eating Wednesday, a phone started ringing. It sounded like a landline rather than a cell ringtone to me. It rang about five times, yet no one moved. Finally I looked around the table and asked suspiciously, "Am I the only one who hears that?"
Turns out it was my sister's husband's cell phone. He was outside at the time. It just had a bit of a deceptive ring, and apparently everyone knew it but me.
I didn't go to any fireworks shows this year, nor did I shoot any. There was a ban on certain fireworks around here due to the lack of rain. Not wanting to risk committing another felony, I decided to spend my money on Sun Drops and barbecue fried pork skins.
But really, a ban on fireworks? Isn't this America, land of the free, home of the M-80's? Next thing you know, they'll be trying to stop high-ranking government officials from doling out pardons left and right to friends who have been convicted of committing high crimes.
Please. Not in my country.
Ever since the very first Fourth of July celebration in 1777, Americans have been shooting fireworks. Although I'm not sure exactly what fireworks they had back then. Probably just some snap and pops. Oh, and I'm sure they had Ben Franklin come and do his little kite trick. But that probably got old after thirty or forty times.
Fireworks should never be banned in America. Every child should get to experience the thrill of holding a bottle rocket as it launches, or having a firecracker go off in their hand. The burning. The pain. The numbness. The ringing in your ear. The temporary uncertainty of what just happened.
I'm sorry, but you just can't simulate those feelings with some Tony Danza-hosted fireworks spectacular on television. Well, except for maybe the numbness. But I think that had more to do with Tony Danza than anything else.
"Oh let's go, let's strike a light. We're gonna blow like dynamite. I don't care if it takes all night, gonna set this town alight..."
Fireworks that launch have been banned here in PA for quite a few years now. We have purchased the "approved" fireworks but they are not the same.
ReplyDeleteI guess with out ever changing society, kids today and in the future will not get to experience what we did as a child. Let's face it, not only is our childhood a thing of the past, it is only memory to be shared by us with the children of our future.
Not wanting to risk committing another felony
ReplyDeleteThe word “another” in that statement has me very curious, Bone. Care to enlighten your public? *er*
Monday would feel like Thursday. It's almost like not working at all. Let's see about getting that instituted.
Or Thursday would always feel like Monday, which isn’t such a good thing…
I’m glad you had a good fourth :)
I can't believe that I followed your link :)
ReplyDeleteAnd thanks for enlightening us on your too judicious use of sun screen
Neutrogena has sun screen with something called helioplex. It's beyond excellent for not burning--when you use the right #, comes in sprays that are cooling and are supposed to be protective of many things.
Yes they're paying me to spread the word :)
Glad your Dad went into a pool
they had tornado warnings here in DC, and sent alot of the people that were down at the mall home.
ReplyDeleteNeedless to say, I didn't bother to venture out either.
I just watched them on PBS :)
what's this 'other' felony. I think it deserves a blog post.
ReplyDelete. . . speaking of dynamite - my grandfather (mom's dad) used to play with 'em on the 4th of July. Really.
Yeah, I wanna hear about the other felony, too ;)
ReplyDeleteFireworks were prohibited here, too :( The kids were really bummed, especially since they had a ton of fireworks to shoot off...last year, when they were "70 PERCENT OFF!!!" after the 4th, hubby and the kids stocked up for this year....we had a huge Rubbermaid tub full, and no fireworks allowed...major bummer!!
About the phone story: I have one better...I thought I heard the phone ringing over at Mom's (I can't hear mine ring at home) so I picked it up (I was next to it) and took it to her. She (and everyone else in the room) looked at me funny, and told me that it didn't ring...that some sort of buzzer was going off somewhere in the house. I felt totally stupid...then, kinda weird when the same buzzer went off a few minutes later and I didn't hear it that time. This ear of mine won't do :)
Have a great weekend. I'm jealous that you're going to the BEACH soon...I haven't been in two years now...not since Katrina! :(
Michelle: Wow, that is sad. I think there could be laws here against fireworks, but they don't enforce them.
ReplyDeleteTC: Oh, I was teasing about the priors :)
Or Thursday would always feel like Monday
Yeah, except that it wouldn't! Fine, we'll leave you on the five-day plan then :P So much for my No Worker Left Behind Plan.
Pia: I try not to link unless I think my readers will find it interesting, humorous, or educational :) Thanks for the Nutrogena tip. Seems like I've seen their commercials before during General Hospital.
DCChick: Yeah, it's not quite the same on TV, is it?
Shelby: Dynamite? Really? With apologies to Jimmy Walker, I think the only people I know who ever played with dynamite were Bo and Luke Duke.
Jennifer: I know. It just wasn't the same around here without every other third house putting on their own fireworks display.
Aww, I think my Dad thought he heard the phone, too. He wasn't wearing his hearing aid because he was planning to get in the pool, so he didn't say anything.
I forgot to ask what's wrong with Tony Danza?
ReplyDeleteHere some people consider him a kind of saint
And the other felony? Not letting you off the perp walk :)
Fireworks are banned in NY---all of Chinatown is policed very heavily
It's so political that the state of NY almost didn't let Jersey City do a fireworks show--in Jersey, of course
Fine, we'll leave you on the five-day plan then :P
ReplyDeleteNow, now, no need to be rash about this, Bone. I never said that I wouldn't prefer having two Mondays a week to only working four days ;)
Now, what can you do about getting me shorter days, too? *er*
lol I dont know...I do have 3 day weekends every week since I work 4 10.5 days...So this is how my holiday worked...3 days off worked monday and tuesday wednesday off worked thursday and had 3 days off...;) lucky me!!!
ReplyDeleteLot of the houses around here still have wood shake roofs, as dry as it has been. . .
ReplyDeleteI got to see the fireworks shot off at the race track below us through the trees, almost as good as seeing them without being filtered by evergreens. There were private fireworks going in three other places in our neighborhood, but I got tired of turning my neck from side to side like a bobble head. They went on at the track well over an hour.
Not the same as watching my husband and teenage son years ago get the neighborhood so filled with smoke, a woman came home thinking her house was on fire.
Hey, Bone, the phone's ringing. Answer it will you. It is three words calling you: bachelor, duped, and face.
All fireworks are banned where I am [only one little city is allowed to have "approved" fireworks], but they had an area where you could go to see them (I didn't go, so I didn't see any).
ReplyDeleteBanning fireworks just because sometimes they are used irresponsibly is silly, sort of like banning BBQ's because some people have accidentally burned things other the meat {or something along those lines}.
Pia: I've never been that enthralled with Mister Danza. You know the old joke about how all his roles are characters named Tony...
ReplyDeleteTC: That's more like it. I'm glad to see you've assimilated :) Shorter hours? One step at a time.
Tagster: So by Sunday, you will have had seven of the past ten days off? I think I like your plan better than mine.
Marcia: Well, I'm glad you got to see some fireworks.
Three words? Um, tell them I'm not at home. I'll be back, um, next Wednesday :)
GirlFPS: Exactly. Next thing you know, they'll be banning grilling.
Glad you had a nice 4th and kept all limbs and appendages intact for another year. I spent the 4th checking your page every now and then just to see if MAYBE there was a 3WW. How pathetic is that? But then, call me unAmerican, and Tony Danza notwithstanding, I'm not much of a fireworks fan.
ReplyDeleteBanning fireworks!!?! What the heck? Y'all down there even have the legal fireworks that we here in the conservative north aren't allowed to. They know we'll blow our hands off or something. Can you write your congressman or something??
ReplyDeleteThat's pretty funny about kids shooting off fireworks. Personally I don't share your opinion and I have a strong belief that once you become a parent you might change your mind as well. I have too many near miss memories about fireworks to let DD anywhere near them. Besides she hates the noise...so for now we'll let the professionals handle it from a distance.
ReplyDeletere: the turtle...DH's dad built that when he worked for the city. It is at least 40 years old, maybe older. Small kids can crawl under it and see where others have left their mark on it. I noticed two cracks in it this time, so I'm guessing it might not be around too much longer. I really wish that FIL had put his name on it somewhere...but he wasn't that kind of person. So the only folks who know that he made it are the family. There is also a bridge that he built. It is still holding up just fine, but no mark of the maker on it. *sigh* Well DD will have pictures of her with them.
Fireworks are banned here (private ones), because of fire danger. We only had 3 inches of rain, and the neighborhoods are surrounded by lots of open space. It's just too darn scary. But there are lots of public displays... large ones.
ReplyDeleteThere are other "missing" freedoms that are worse. Just found out (the hard way) that it is a misdemeanor around these parts for a kid to be out in ANY public place (including a Starbucks) after 10 PM without a responsible adult (i.e. 21 or older) until they are 18. A misdemeanor! If they are caught, they have to talk to a judge at juvie. Guess where I'm going on Tuesday... Doesn't matter if no alcohol, tobacco, drugs, various stages of undress, noise or defacing of public property was involved, and they are merely sitting around at 10:30 in numb shock discussing the fact they've just graduated from high school and will be going their separate ways in a few short months.
Life ain't what it was when I was a kid.
We've got areas up in the hills surrounding Sacramento that have a ban on ALL fireworks. You can't even have sparklers. Nothing. None. Nada. WTF, right? So I feel your pain.
ReplyDeleteHopefully now that your "milky" skin has been scalded, your trip to the ocean won't leave you so scarred. That's how ya get a tan, buddy!
I've long been a proponent of the 4 days on, 3 days off scenario. It just makes good sense! :) Run for president, Sir Bone, and make this a large part of your platform and your tax ideas from April and I promise - you've got my vote.
ReplyDeleteThere are still people in the world with landlines?!?!?!?! I abandoned mine somewhere in my college years. It always surprises me to learn of people who still have landlines, or *gasp* ONLY have landlines. . .. Don't think about it. Don't try to contemplate it. It makes no sense.
I can't really say much about the fireworks bans. They're banned here, but no one cares. They all shoot them off anyway. And I've rarely been a please don't ostracize me huge fan of fireworks. I think it has something to do with being shot at least three years in a row with a bottle rocket. Hmmm . . .
Manky: Now I'm starting to think I should have posted three words :) I just didn't figure many people would be around with the holiday.
ReplyDeleteCarnealian: Conservative north? lol That's a first. By the way, I love your new pic! ;-)
Renee: I suppose it's possible my perspective could change once I have kids. I just think it's amazing all the things "we" survived that kids today don't get to experience.
Gay: Sigh. Just another instance of the over-protection of kids today.
I think you have to let kids learn some things by experience. It is, after all, the best teacher.
For example, a firecracker went off in my hand one time and one time only. That was enough. I learned.
Blondie: I know. Maybe I'll have a tan just in time for fall :)
Not even sparklers?? That's crazy!
Avery Laine: I still have a landline *blushing*
Though I do have one friend who doesn't yet have a cell phone! Hmm, come to think of it, that deserves it's on blog entry soon.
You haven't lived until you've had a bottle rocket shot at you :)
Ya gotta have a landline, don't ya? That's where the FAMILY calls go... it's the number you give out to strangers and businesses and stuff because you can turn off the ringer. (And at least around here, it's dangerous to use your cell for 911, because they get routed to the CHP and can take eons to get answered). It's dial-up that I wouldn't want to admit to... or the lack of a cell phone. Even my 86 year-old father with Alzheimer's has a cell phone, and most days he can remember how to use it.
ReplyDeleteI remember when they outlawed Pop Bottle Rockets. I was devestated! When I was little... those were our favorite fireworks. They dont do anything really spectacular other than shoot up in the air and pop but we had the best time lighting them. I guess they have great potential to start grass fires. But dont they all?
ReplyDeleteGay: Yeah, I've had my landline unplugged for most of the past week due to an abundance of telemarketer calls. And yes, I'm signed up on the Do Not Call list.
ReplyDeleteKerry: Bottle rockets are the perfect blend of fun and cheap. You could shoot them out of a bottle, throw them, or hold them in your hand. And around here, they were like $2 for a gross (which was 144).