happy fourth

I wasn't going to write anything in honor of Independence Day. It was really quite a monotonous laundry and work day. Starbucks generously pays us a bit extra for the holiday and my manager generously put my name on the schedule for a full 8 hour shift today. My feet are sore, I'm tired, and I'm working again at 7am, but customers were happy for a holiday.

On my way home from work, I was reminded of what a big deal personal home fireworks are in Washington State. I'm not talking about the cheap sparkler, pop-its, and such you pick up at the department or grocery store; I'm talking the "good" stuff you can get off the reservations. These fireworks include Roman Candles, Cherry Bombs, and Coconut Bombs, and are illegal off the reservation land. I'm not entirely sure how this ever became such an oversight by law enforcement, but the 4th of July seems to be a day in the year where the police turn a blind eye to heaps of fireworks exiting the reservations to be blown off for the holiday.

One woman came into the store today to say, "It's really sad. My husband just purchased $200 in fireworks." I kidded that she countered that with her coffee purchase. Cheap joke about our overpriced coffee, I know.

I remember being an overly concerned 12 year old driving with dad out to the reservation to pick up some explosives one year. I was even allowed to purchase of few of my own choice while dad brought back some big ones. We snuck the goods under some blankets in the back of our Volvo wagon, but there was really no reason to do so. It wasn't until I got to college that I really paid attention to the professional shows!

They sky was quite well lit when I drove home at 9:45pm, and I can hear more going off right now. So many fireworks were let off that in my 4 mile drive to the apartment with the windows open, I smelled sulfur the entire way. The weather was perfect for the holiday; 85F and sunny!