My neighbors…..they are a mixture of folks! Some are friendly and say hello as they come and go. Other's never even look our way (and that's cool). A few are quiet hard-working types who pull in the garage and shut'er down. Here and there are sprinkled the loud & obnoxious types. The kind who think EVERYONE enjoys their parties and kids running through the streets late into the night (like, 1 am late) screaming and shouting. It's a true picture, really, of America. All kinds of people in one busy little area of Indiana called Walker Farms.
Just this past weekend, my neighbors put together a little firework show. I didn't know about it but I've since READ ON FACEBOOK that they invited everyone. Strangely, I didn't get my invite. So, it's safe to say….they invited who they knew. I can dig it. What I can't dig….is the loud explosions booming over my house that sounded like the Hatfields & McCoys were shooting it out at 10:30 pm in my front yard!
It didn't help that I was home alone and Ms Lizzy decided that there were indeed murderers outside and that she would remain on high alert AKA barking until all was safely quiet again! Boom, bark! Boom boom, bark bark bark!!! KABOOOOOOM!!!! Barky bark barky! Really, I don't want to mislead anyone with my post here…..I love having fun! If you know me, you know….there isn't ANYONE on earth more party hearty than me. I just don't know about fireworks on July 12th in a VERY CLOSE sea of vinyl covered tall houses! The houses in this community are right on top of one another, stacked tight! For me, a little too tight for shooting off huge fireworks right in the middle of everyone's $1000 mortgage payment dwellings.
Call me a fuddy-dud, I don't care!
So, I posted the question on the neighborhood forum — >
Just wondering…….how much longer will the neighborhood be celebrating with the booming fireworks?
I love the USA but the explosions are crazy loud! Shhh, it's 10:30!
Many jumped right in with frustrated agreement….and then it got mean. Over and over, back & forth….snarky comments mixed in with "some people just have to complain" and of course the "WE LOVED THE SHOW" comments. I wasn't the only one to ask about the noise either. A few other people voiced their concern and before you knew it, people were resorting to name-calling and seeking out revenge. It was a real eye-opener into the thinking of many people within walking distance of my front door. It really made me sad! The lack of concern for others was profoundly absent. If you were frustrated with the noisey fireworks, you were a whining complainer who didn't want anyone to ever have fun! If you were shooting off fireworks….you were a proud American who wanted to bless the world around you with fun and excitement!
All I could think is…. WHERE AM I?
I want to be a good neighbor and I don't want everyone around me mad at me for being a nuisance. If I'm keeping people up all night screaming in the streets, it's probably a legit reason for them to want to complain. I recognize that I'm NOT the only person living in this neighborhood. So, because of that fact….I have to limit my wild shenanigans! I can't just do whatever I want.
All from this last week, I scrolled through a newsfeed after googling "fires caused by fireworks" and one after the other listed horrible stories of real life families devastated by fires that were started because of fireworks. I can't even imagine the heartbreak of someone losing their home or worse, their lives all for an exciting night of leftover fireworks. Besides that, who knows if the stuff being fired off is even legal or of safe quality?
I would never take a chance like that in a neighborhood like mine.
So, next time…..and I know there will be one because I read post after post of impending nights of sky-rocketing blasts. I pray A) I'm not home! B) No one gets hurt! C) No one's home is hit or damaged! and D) Neighbors don't fight like gangsters in the hood when someone complains!
God bless America