Catching Fire(works)

Catching fire would also be an apt title for this post about the 4th of July in Dickinson. I have never seen anything like it. Technically, there are laws prohibiting the use of fireworks within city limits. I grew up in a town with the same rules. People usually bent them a little. You know, sparklers, maybe some bottle rockets or a roman candle. Here, citizens use fireworks so extravagant that we were unable to tell when the official city fireworks started and stopped. We could look in any direction and see some pretty amazing fireworks... for hours. We were with a large group of friends and acquaintances at a local park. In our group alone there must have been a thousand dollars worth of fireworks set off. I was torn between feelings of awe and fearing for my life. I was sure something was going to burn down at some point. My fears were grounded. At one point a large number of sky lanterns were launched and one of the dads handed out bottle rockets to all the boys over the age of eight so they could try and shoot the lanterns down.... over the heads of the rest of us. Yeah. Testosterone and fire at its best. Happily, nothing burned and we had a wonderful time. I guess here in ND we just can't contain our patriotic fervor, we're on fire.