I belong to the Freecycle groups and a recent post to the Freecycle Cafe sister page reminded me of an experience I had many years ago, that made me rethink how to celebrate the 4th. I am sure none of my "Cafe" friends is among those who misuse fire to celebrate our nations independence from England (even my veteran husband reminds me that this is not Veteran's Day or Memorial Day...it is USA day)! I replied to the group with my own story.

"Other than poppers, sparklers and smoke 'bombs', fireworks are illegal to sell, purchase or transport in most states. When I was a little girl my uncles and father would place something they called 'M80s' into beer cans (then made of steel) and blow them apart all over our yard. With six little kids, my mother was panicked during the fiasco, then spent the next day on her hands and knees combing the yard for the shrapnel. This was after she tended several burns we kids had gotten the night before from sparklers, some of which provided us with permanent reminders of our country's independence.

The annual birthday 'celebration' of our country continued for the next third century or so, while I witnessed a neighbors home nearly burned down due to bottle rockets and vehicles in a parking lot in our apartment complex peppered with burn marks inflicted by the activities of the next generation of fools.

But the last straw for me was when I came home from a night of wonderment at a local park, watching the most amazing fireworks show I'd yet seen, to find my dog had crashed through a window after someone, unknown, had shot bottle rockets into our fenced backyard where we thought we'd left him safe. Our beautiful retriever's golden blonde coat was streaming with blood from the cuts he'd suffered from the broken glass, trying to get inside the house. He survived, after an emergency trip to the vet, but forever after, suffered 'shell shock'. He was a cowering mess who would scurry for the closet at the sound of popcorn popping and heft his huge body under the bed at a muffler backfire.

I take responsibility for having left him there. In my naivete, I had faith in the good sense and kindness of others. They can't have known they'd hurt an innocent pet. Right...

Lesson learned, I now secure my animals whenever the 'party' starts. I like a good 4th of July fireworks as much as the next person, but I reserve my own celebration to that put on by professionals. We still do a sparkler or two, but with extreme caution to prevent damage to baby flesh. Mostly we slather on the mosquito repellent and watch the candles on the nation's birthday, glow from a lawn chair in the grass nearby."