5 July 2025
Sharing Saturday - Favorite fireworks?
I was hoping to post our Nature Walk this week, but alas, only four people have sent pictures (many thanks to those who did!). Please, please send your own pics of your local flora and/or fauna to jotpurple@usa.com !
Since that didn’t work out…what is your favorite kind of fireworks?
As a child, I was limited to snakes, smoke bombs, and sparklers. I seem to recall, one year, that my dad had scared up some (illicit) firecrackers—the little ones that are all strung together in a bundle. That was both exciting and scary, because they weren’t legal in Utah at the time. But Wyoming had much looser rules, so there were always people in the neighborhood who had driven up there to buy firecrackers (often big ones) and bottle rockets.
Provo is famous for its Freedom Festival (running since 1877), but the celebration is much larger now than it was when I was kid. Back then, the main features were the 4th of July parade and a fireworks display set off somewhere on BYU campus (not, as now, in the stadium). It wasn’t until I was pre-teen that I had a chance to see those fireworks up close, but we had a decent line-of-sight view from our backyard, even though it was all the way across town.
It wasn’t until we moved to Oregon that I discovered my very favorite kind of fireworks: ground flowers. I also discovered my favorite way of setting them off, although we’ve rarely found the right conditions for it since then. Because my favorite way of setting off ground flowers is throwing them into deep water.
You wouldn’t think that this would work, because fire and water don’t really mix. But the ingredients of ground flowers burn hot enough to stay alight, even under water. We would light ground flowers and throw them off the Santiam River bridge, then watch them spin flaming down in the depths.
Coolest. Thing. Ever.
What’s your favorite?
The best thing about cherry bombs and ash cans was the waterproof fuses. So you could light them and they would explode underwater. It was always difficult to get your hands on fireworks in the northeast. But there was always some enterprise person that would go to Chinatown in New York City and score a big ball. I have a really fun story about fireworks that I will try to relate later as we are currently walking around Budapest. Hope everyone had a nice Fourth of July.
I lived in Boston so, as far as I’m concerned, nothing beats the frenzied camaraderie of the Charles River Esplanade and The 1812 Overture at the Hatch Bandshell with the live cannons roaring and fireworks overhead. It really has to be one of the greatest events in the world, all-time.