The day was fine.
My neighbors down the street were hosting a Fourth of July party and I had Nathan, BL and Clemisha come along as my guests. A thing I and a few other party guests commented on was we have a very communal block. Lem and a few other guys were talking about construction projects they are planning on helping each other out with. There were several other neighbors from the block over, hanging out, drinking cool drinks, eating warm burgers.
Nighttime, ‘nother story.
I was using the 4th as a test of how the neighborhood has changed any. Night time, on the 4th, it’s bedlam. I know it is not just my hood. I’ve seen it in Capitol Hill as well with people putting on their DIY fireworks show. Last year there were small crowds shooting off fireworks in the street and on the sidewalks at both ends of my block. Well this year it began on one end. Then those folks moved to the other end. I don’t know if the people who lived on that corner told them to move or what but they moved to the corner with the empty lot. Besides those folks, who I am going to guess don’t even live around here. There were the families on the block shooting off tamer but not less louder fireworks on the sidewalks in front of their houses. Last year, DM and her family were blasting fireworks up and down the street. I had to have the sprinkler on to ‘keep the grass wet’ just to keep them from blowing off rockets in front of my house. This year, DM was not around.
Firecrackers kept going off well into midnight. I was tired enough to sleep through that and the blasting stereo that had been going since 2 in the evening. Yesterday, heard some more go off. Hopefully, everyone will run out of their supply by the end of the week, or at least the end of the month. But if history dictates, we’ll hear them in August.