They called him “The Firecracker Kid.”
He got the nickname in the seventh-grade, not for winning the science fair, which he did that year, nor for his chemistry presentation in which he did not even blow anything up! No the nickname came from doing something that did not require much brain power and he definitely did not think about it for too long before he just went ahead and did it.
He was in the second floor boy’s bathroom of St. Rose of Lima Catholic grammar school with his friend Vinny Ansonelli and he felt the package of firecrackers in his pants pocket.
He pulled them out to show off and one unraveled from the bunch. He held it in his fingertips and walked over to the open bay window that looked out over the back of the school that was next to the house where the nuns lived.
He pulled out the fuse and noticed a little gun powder puff out of the end. He knew it was harmless without the fuse and he decided to light one end and let it sparkle and fizz itself out.
He did not plan on the smoke that would waft out the bathroom door and into the hallway, alarming the rest of the school. That became all too clear when the fire alarm rang.
There was no fire but the nuns searched every student’s locker and turned up a large cache of contraband fireworks, which they confiscated. Of course, it didn’t take long for them to figure out that he had lit the dud that fizzled in the bathroom.
Things went downhill for the next few days after they called his mother in for a conference and she was told to take him home for the rest of the day.
However, if there was one thing he learned it’s that even smart people can sometimes do really dumb things.
Fireworks. They inspire awe in those who behold their colorful power. When our country celebrates the signing of the Declaration of Independence on the Fourth of July every year fireworks are usually a part of the package.
A good fireworks show can elicit patriotic thoughts such as those that inspired Francis Scott Key, a lukewarm patriot at the time, to pen the words to the “Star Spangled Banner” when he saw the American Flag still wave over Fort McHenery during the War of 1812.
Fireworks. They help us express our sense of freedom and appreciate the fruits of living in a “free society.”
They also put a nice cap on the one day of the year where it seems that all Americans can agree on one thing and that is that it’s better to live free than under the oppression of the whims of other human beings.
Yes, freedom is a great thing, as the mighty power of the United States seems to illustrate. Yet it also comes with the great responsibility of upholding “The Golden Rule” of treating others the way we want to be treated.
Fireworks in the wrong hands can become a bad thing, even with the best of intentions. In many cities fireworks are legal to buy and sell and use on private property. Some worthy non-profit groups or little league organizations can get a financial bonanza out of selling fireworks. It’s good to be so free, that is unless your neighbor’s bottle rocket lands on your wood shake roof and burns your house down. It’s no wonder that firefighters tend to be among the few who look toward our Independence Day with a sense of dread. Is it any wonder then that some cities like Seal Beach have outlawed fireworks?
Even in the “right hands” the experience of lighting off fireworks can go terribly wrong. There are many tales of professional pyrotechnic companies that have had some “oops” moments. Just the other day at the Simi Valley Rotary Club fireworks show a major accident happened that left dozens of spectators injured. A collapsed launching platform is thought to have been the cause. There was no sign of foul play.
A couple of years ago in Avalon, Catalina there was a misfiring of some fireworks that exploded on the ground before they failed to launch. No one was injured. The person who runs the show there fixed the problem. He also happens to be the town’s fire chief. I suppose if things can go wrong with fireworks for such experts, it’s probable that private citizens who dabble with them once a year could make some dreadful mistakes. There are plenty of stories out there about missing eyeballs and fingers. While it’s not that I want government to protect me from making such a mistake myself, I do not want to see some neighbor’s kid set off an errant firework that causes some damage to people or property.
That is why I applaud Seal Beach’s decision to outlaw fireworks. I like my freedom just as much as the next patriot and God knows we can have too many rules and regulations floating about. But there also comes a time for good governance decisions, even if it’s just to protect us from “the other guy.” What else should government exist for?
Dennis Kaiser is the editor of the Sun Newspapers. Some people in Long Island, New York may still remember him as “the firecracker kid.”
