I extend a warm and free 4th of July to you all. Someone on our Key Peninsula (we live on something that looks like Florida but is 28 miles long and 5 miles wide) suggested we, in what could generously be called a rural area, consider outlawing fireworks because they bothered her dog. A young lady who was not  heavily invested in a larger parcel was complaining that someone down the street in their neighborhood was setting off what sounded like incoming 40 Mike Mike HEs.

My response to  the conversation occurred about the time it segued into how even legal booms also forced poor PTSD Vets to relive their nightmares.   Hell, I thought the sign above was a general plea to bring your fireworks over and share them with him.  Hey, he may be on VA comp. at 60%. You can’t buy decent skywork on $1159 a month plus dependency for a better half and a few wall crawlers. Share? Of course. The Fourth of July reminds me of a direct hit on a bomb dump about 2330 around here. Lock the dogs up. Give them about a half a tab of Ace Promazine. Check to make sure they don’t swallow their tongue every so often.

 I can imagine our forefathers all congregating on the Concord Bridge to fight the British. What I can’t imagine is one of them saying “Hold the phone, guys. This is going to make the devil of a ruckus and the cows will quit giving milk and chickens will quit laying. Let’s all just put a fork in this and go home. Let the British rule us. It isn’t worth upsetting the pets.” I did two years in Vietnam and Laos and they were loud ones. I was kicked out when I came home due to ”personality disorders”. Military folks with PTSD get it from their experiences in war or due to major sexual trauma. You don’t get it from hearing too many booms. If you do, there’s far more problems afoot. Asking everyone to forego loud fireworks on the Fourth is selfish. It’s like your neighbors insisting you celebrate a birthday with no presents and cake because it might upset their kids. Celebrate your freedom how you wish. If the fireworks are legal, and the fire danger is low, fly at it. Be glad you are free and can celebrate in this country. Many people cannot do this. I served America to preserve your right to celebrate as you see fit. A new generation has decided we have to “be nice” and worry about others’ feelings and wants and desires. If my actions (or fireworks) upset you, vote with your feet or vote to change the laws. Please don’t ask me to give up my freedoms. I fought too hard to preserve them for both you and my family.

When I came home, and for about a decade after, every car backfiring close to me would make me want to hit the dirt. A few times I did. It went away. Other than that, a boom is a boom around here. We live in a free fire zone. All you need is a minimum of five acres to make it legal. Jez, I even have an indoor pistol range.

My blurb neglects to point out that most who  signed up to be all they could be back in 2001 had reasonable expectations of being around gunfire, booms, big booms and occasionally even really big booms if the enemy is shooting back at you. So all of a sudden booms are out for everyone because one person or a dog objects?

Here’s Cupcake’s newly rescued Miniature Horse. He has a real name any vertically challenged male equine would relish.  Ladies and Gentlemen Vets, meet Buckshot.

Funny thing is they’re like dogs. He doesn’t know he’s not the same size as my 16 handers. Anyway, have a safe Fourth, be glad you can light up the sky with green 7.62 tracers and think whatever you want to about our Presidential Tweeter.