Sunday, July 1, 2018
10:06 p.m.

Well, here we are, the first day of July. Already I have been hearing illegal fireworks in my neighborhood all weekend. We all know what this means, right?

Right. Time for my annual rant and rave about the damn fireworks.

I know, I know. It's all cool, fireworks are pretty, blah, blah, blah.

No.

I am a-okay with fireworks in their place. As in, set off by professionals with fire equipment and all the necessary personnel standing by. (Alright, I'm not totally okay, but I'm at least semi-okay.)

My neighborhood is not the place for fireworks. Mobile homes--many of them old. Lots of pets. Small children. No, no, no.

I went to the doctor a few days ago, and I took the bus. It was 105 degrees. Everything is as dry as Granny's tinderbox. Yeah, we've had some rain, but not enough to deal with the heat and the dry grasses and timber. One spark, and we're done for.

One spark.

There's a sign at the trailer park entrance: "Just a friendly reminder: Fireworks are illegal."

They have been illegal all these years, but for some reason, I have been hearing them for the past week anyway. Where the hell are the cops?

I just hate them. The fireworks, not the cops.

However...where are the cops? Show up, guys. Give tickets. Lots of them.

Sorry, not sorry. I know you think they're pretty, and I guess they are, but not in city limits and certainly not in my neighborhood.

The poor dogs and cats and other animals have to deal with it every year. I'm glad Rex is in Oklahoma with my granddaughter, because they make him a nervous wreck. Trixie just climbs on my feet, and shakes like a leaf, but Rex paces and barks and growls. I feel so sorry for the animals, because there's no way to explain it to them, and they just can't be comforted.

I'd like to think things will be relatively calm this year because the 4th is on Wednesday, but I'm not holding out any hope. The crazies are already winding up.

Surely a nice barbecue and some music ought to be enough. What is the big deal? How are you going to pay for it if you set your neighbor's house on fire? And believe me, if it is my house, I am going to go after you and sue you for all I can get. I will catch you. I already had a house burn down due to an accident, and that was bad. A firework conflagration is not an accident. You light 'em, you break the law, you buy me a new house and everything in it. I don't care if you end up having to live in a cardboard box, you will pay.

So, warning, warning, all you fireworks nuts in my neighborhood. I mean business if you start my house on fire. Pack up your kids and take them to a safe show far, far away from me. Enjoy yourselves without endangering lives and traumatizing pets. I mean it. I am serious.

And while you're at it, don't drink and drive.

I hate the 4th of July.

But--hey! Go, Freedom!

Oh boy, you'll probably see more of this as the week goes on.

Grumble.
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11:00 p.m.

I have to tell you that I missed doing a #WriteAwayJune post today. That was a fun little writing challenge.

I did manage about thousand words on my manuscript today--I'm counting revision work. I needed to clean up an area before moving on. My research netted me a few tidbits that I wanted to add.

How come I never knew I liked history this much when I was in school? Did I just not have the right subject matter? My teachers were good, but they didn't awaken my curiosity much back in the day. I'm not sure I could ever get too excited about the History of the USSR even now. The fact that it is no longer the USSR just goes to show you how ancient I'm getting. I can't believe I had to learn to spell all those country names, and now the only one I'm sure I can spell is Russia. Ha ha!

Anyway, I have been fascinated with some of the things I have learned in my research for my books. It's interesting to see how we've come to be where we are in the here and now based on where we were from and how we navigated in the past.
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I could use that last as a jumping off place to get all preachy and political, but I'm not going to. It's all gotten too preachy and political without progressing into anything productive, so why bother?

That said, I will add just this much: I voted!

It was really cool to vote in this round, actually. Colorado now allows Independents to vote on the Democratic or Republican ballots, which means more people than ever were able to get their votes counted. And I am glad to see more Independents, because I think party affiliation is getting to be an enormous problem.

Oops. I got preachy and political.

Uh.... NO FIREWORKS!

There we go.
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11:34 p.m.

I am off to explore the wonderful world of "no gluten". Per my doctor, gluten sensitivity doesn't always show up in blood work-ups, and we're looking for food options that won't leave me in pain all the time.

Meh.

I find that not eating is not a good option, so I guess I'm game to try something different.

Until we meet again!

Ta!