Last night, it sounded like Baghdad in our neighborhood. You gotta love the states where fireworks are legal. A friend of mind gave us his 2 year old set of fireworks. Oh baby, it’s an adventure when you’ve got high powered fireworks that don’t do what they’re supposed to. Mortars going up 15 feet (instead of the usual 100) and exploding. Needless to say the boys loved it. Anything with explosions and possible death make it a memorable holiday.

In honor of yesterday’s firework lovin’ holiday, I give you this. Put down your best caption for this picture.

I worked all day yesterday in a firework stand. My church’s youth group is running a firework stand to raise money for an upcoming missions trip. In that time, I’ve gotten to talk to all sorts of people and hear all sorts of firework stories. It’s truly amazing how many memories we have wrapped up in those explosive little buggers.

So my question for you to day is: what’s your best firework memory?

It can be a fond memory or one of blowing up things and the carnage that followed. Whatever works for you! Happy 4th of July!

My story:

During college, I spent a summer abroad in Cambridge, England. Leaving home, I was bummed because I knew there would be no 4th of July celebration. I love the 4th mainly because I love fireworks (I’m a guy - we’re hard wired for that sort of thing).

I had been Cambridge for a couple of weeks, then one night, some students and I all heard something. Boom. Boom. BOOM! We all went out to investigate. On in a back private gardens on the school grounds they were putting on an elaborate private firework show. It was an old professor 60th birthday. This was unlike any firework display I’ve ever seen. It was immense. We climbed inside the gates and and laid out on the lawn going unnoticed by the party goers. The show went on for a solid hour. The ground shook so much the hedgehogs were coming out of their burrows and scurrying about running around us. It was amazing.