July 4th memories

  • kooty
    Keymaster
    1 hour 15 mins to the Pond
    Posts: 18101
    June 30, 2011 at 2:02 pm #207044

    Having grown up as a partial pyro and being in South Dakota as a kid, I was just thinking about some of my favorite July 4th memories.

    1st – I’m about 8-9 years old. My uncle is teaching me how to throw bottle rockets in the back yard. The good whistler kind! They are little heavier and actually throw much easier. Well, I launch one on a pretty flat trajectory. It heads across the road into some waist high(or shoulder for me) grass. No big deal, we keep lighting. Suddenly we see smoke. We run back there and try to stomp out the fire. Too late. I run to the house and get someone to call the fire department. They arrive, drive into the tall grass and quickly put out the grass fire. Unfortunately they ran over a piece of scrap metal(which I’m pretty sure I threw out of our yard at one point) and punctured the front tire. So not only does Dad have to pay for a fire call, but fixing a flat. He’s really happy with us.

    2nd – I’m 14, driving my baseball buddies around lighting bottle rockets out of the car at unsuspecting friends. We have fashioned “guns” out of small chunks of copper pipe. Put the rocket it in, light the fuse and aim out the window. Really funny stuff. We were also tossing fire crackers out. Well, we had one of those 100 cracker strings. One of the guys in the back hit the darn child proof window when he tried throwing it out. Sure enough it dropped on the floor and all heck broke lose. The car filled with smoke. We pulled over, 3 idiots with ringing ears. I drove around with all the windows down for the rest of day praying my parents wouldn’t smell the mess we made. Unfortunately the burns in the floor mat weren’t as easy to hide so that floor mat mysteriously disappeared.

    These may not be my “favorite” memories of the 4th as a kid, but they rank up there somewhere.

    I’m headed to SD tonight for my parents 40th anniversary tonight and can’t wait to spend it like the old days with lots of family lighting fireworks.

    Hope you all have safe and fun July 4th!

    John

    prieser
    Byron, MN
    Posts: 2274
    June 30, 2011 at 5:09 pm #107076

    My son Isaac was born 7-04-2004. That is by far my best 4th memory. Hope everyone has a safe and happy weekend.

    corey_waller
    hastings mn
    Posts: 1525
    June 30, 2011 at 6:23 pm #107093

    HOLY CHIT KOOTY I could see your dumb azz bailing out of the car with 100 crackers going off!!! thats friggin awesome I got nothing like that.. you win hands down

    Jon Stevens
    Northfield, Wi
    Posts: 1242
    June 30, 2011 at 9:32 pm #107101

    My brother and I were pretty good at throwing fire crackers before they went off. Once my mother caught us, she put an end to that right away. Just as we were about to wrap up the night my mom found a fire cracker on the ground. Not knowing we seen her pick it up, my aunt says “light it and throw it!”….sure enough she lights it and rears back to throw it. At this time my brother and I know she is in trouble. Rule #1 never rear back. Always light that sucker and get rid of it fast! So she rears back and the thing goes off right next to her ear. Boy did we get to razz her about that. Of coarse, we waited till the ringing in her ears stopped …..and the blood and throbbing subsided from her missing thumb nail.

    big_g
    Isle, MN
    Posts: 22664
    July 1, 2011 at 1:01 am #107106

    We used to “hold” firecrackers as they went off…. just so there in the edge of your fingernails…. just a little “pop” and pressure on your finger tips

    deertracker
    Posts: 9267
    July 1, 2011 at 8:13 am #107108

    I was up at the cabin one 4th weekend when I was younger. My neibor got drunk and drove his truck off the end of the boat ramp into 8 feet of water. He gets out and says f$%! I spilled my drink. A few hours later they are lighting off fireworks and 1 goes in his new Cadillac and starts the interior on fire.

    DT

    bob_bergeson
    cannon falls
    Posts: 2798
    July 1, 2011 at 10:42 am #107109

    Quote:

    Having grown up as a partial pyro and being in South Dakota as a kid, I was just thinking about some of my favorite July 4th memories.

    1st – I’m about 8-9 years old. My uncle is teaching me how to throw bottle rockets in the back yard. The good whistler kind! They are little heavier and actually throw much easier. Well, I launch one on a pretty flat trajectory. It heads across the road into some waist high(or shoulder for me) grass. No big deal, we keep lighting. Suddenly we see smoke. We run back there and try to stomp out the fire. Too late. I run to the house and get someone to call the fire department. They arrive, drive into the tall grass and quickly put out the grass fire. Unfortunately they ran over a piece of scrap metal(which I’m pretty sure I threw out of our yard at one point) and punctured the front tire. So not only does Dad have to pay for a fire call, but fixing a flat. He’s really happy with us.

    2nd – I’m 14, driving my baseball buddies around lighting bottle rockets out of the car at unsuspecting friends. We have fashioned “guns” out of small chunks of copper pipe. Put the rocket it in, light the fuse and aim out the window. Really funny stuff. We were also tossing fire crackers out. Well, we had one of those 100 cracker strings. One of the guys in the back hit the darn child proof window when he tried throwing it out. Sure enough it dropped on the floor and all heck broke lose. The car filled with smoke. We pulled over, 3 idiots with ringing ears. I drove around with all the windows down for the rest of day praying my parents wouldn’t smell the mess we made. Unfortunately the burns in the floor mat weren’t as easy to hide so that floor mat mysteriously disappeared.

    These may not be my “favorite” memories of the 4th as a kid, but they rank up there somewhere.

    I’m headed to SD tonight for my parents 40th anniversary tonight and can’t wait to spend it like the old days with lots of family lighting fireworks.

    Hope you all have safe and fun July 4th!

    John

    Sounds like fun hope everybody had a great weekend

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