Respect thy neighbor

The Fourth of July is over, guys. Put your firecrackers away.

For the past two weeks I have been constantly assaulted by barrages of fireworks being let off all over my neighborhood. During the day it’s little kids running around throwing firecrackers at each other. At night they’re setting off those annoying fountains that whistle and choke out colorful sparks.

And that was just before the holiday.

Now they’re letting off their leftover big guns. The semi-pro fireworks, or the illegal ones in some cases, that make that deep booming sound as if we’re being bombed or shot at.

My dogs are going insane. One is prancing back and forth as if waiting for the Nazis to burst through the windows and the other has dug herself a nice safe room under my bed.

Maybe I’m an old lady for being so negative about this, but there are laws about fireworks, and because I have to wake up at 5:30 in the morning to work, I want them followed.

Fireworks have a curfew. They’re only allowed between 9:00 a.m. and 11:00 p.m. On holidays (i.e. Memorial Day, Fourth of July, Labor Day and New Years Eve) the curfew extends to midnight. That’s it. After that, it’s lights out. Put your lighters in the drawers out of reach of children and go to sleep.

You have to be 18 years old or older to purchase fireworks, and a child with fireworks must be chaperoned by an adult. This means, no, it is not okay to hand your ten-year-old son a pack of miniature explosives and let him ride off on his bike tossing them at squirrels and stray cats. Who gives their young son a lighter anyway? That’s just begging for him to become a pyromaniac by the time he’s 15.

Throwing fireworks into another person’s yard is illegal. It’s rude and it’s dangerous. If one more bottle rocket comes over my fence, I’m going to explode.

And common sense should tell you that you should never throw fireworks at someone else’s dog just for barking at you. That is dangerous ground, young ones. That is throwing down the gauntlet. All bets are off when it comes to pets.

Fireworks have become synonymous with the Fourth of July, but when you become obnoxious with them, you ruin the holiday for everyone. While showing respect for your soldiers, show some for your neighbors.

­— lnbanks@indiana.edu