Bang! Bang! Bang!

The evening of the Fourth was the same as it always is. Up to midnight and beyond, continuous volleys of firework noises rat-tat-tatted through the night, as if my apartment were surrounded by a vast herd of bean-fed dinosaurs. Enforced wakefulness threw me off my usual schedule for a couple of days (I'm normally an early-to-bed-early-to-rise kind of person). Sirens were added liberally into the auditory mix, and no doubt many a fireman will see substantial overtime on his next paycheck. Nothing in the immediate vicinity got burned down (the complex I live in bans fireworks, but I think neighboring residents are working on longer-range WMD delivery systems). Citywide, the usual idiots perpetrated the usual idiocies.

Seriously, I've always thought that the ever-growing emphasis on infantile noisemakers detracts from the dignity of the anniversary. Independence day is about more than who can generate the most annoying racket.