Independence Day. John Adams wrote to his wife, Abigail, the following: "It ought to be solemnized with pomp and parade, with shows, games, sports, guns, bells, bonfires, and illuminations, from one end of this continent to the other, from this time forward forevermore."
They had just finished the Declaration of Independence, letting the big boys back in England know that they were fed up.
Tired of the shackles, inane regulations and the out-of-touch regulators themselves.
I wonder what the signers would have thought the next year, if some city fathers decided that the kids could not light off a firecracker. Maybe there would have been a second Boston Tea Party.
OK, I can accept the "No Fireworks" in the county-rural areas. But wouldn't it have made sense to allow fireworks inside the city limits? I am a lifelong Kansas resident, having lived through some really dry years. Firecrackers and other fun things are what make Independence Day what it is. Kids need the opportunity to step on a burning ember or experience a firecracker popping their fingers. I don't recall a house fire in Hays due to fireworks since moving here in 1970. This is the second year for this limitation.
Now that our governing regulators have established policy to do away with what John Adams envisioned, the sad refrain begins. The fat lady sings and weeps.
I plan on buying some firecrackers in Plainville. There will be a "Hays Tea Party" on the Fourth of July. Bang, bang.