It’s hard describe Independence Day in the heartland.  Here, fireworks are allowed on the 3rd and 4th of July.  Yes, our small city has a big fireworks show over a lake near downtown.  Yes, other organizations will put on shows as well.

But the true action is in the yards and alleys, the green ways and even the roads.  In one block of fourteen houses you may have seven families having fun burning up bits of paper and gunpowder.

Early in the day one might wander over to the neighbors with younger kids with eagle-eyed parents and have fun with different colored smoke bombs.  Every child met has been taught a healthy respect for distance from lit fireworks and from punks (lighted long sticks used to light a fuse).

Later in the day it’s time for spinners and screamers.  And, of course, when night falls, the loud pops start coming from everywhere around you as foutains flare from the ground up as shells light up the sky overhead and display their brilliance.

It’s something words cannot convey fully.  The reality is so much more!