By Clyde Noel

Town Crier Correspondent

Unless you go to an extravaganza of a Fourth of July celebration, like listening to the “1812 Overture” at the Shoreline Amphitheater, this year’s celebration is in the middle of the week, so the holiday won’t give you much of a bang.

Nowadays, the biggest excitement around the Fourth of July is watching the grandkids go out on the street and shoot off a couple of sparklers. The only thing louder than a whissssss-per is their grandmother yelling, “Look Out! Not so close to your face! Don’t let the sparks fall on your clothes! Don’t swing it around! Be careful of those matches!”

I can remember the Fourth of July explosions we had in my neighbors’ back yards or in the local grocery store parking lot as I grew up. Shooting off fireworks started in mid-June when the Lion’s Club put up their fireworks booth, followed by the Elks Club and finally the Rotary Club pavilion.

We never used sparklers, we used cherry bombs, colored rocket umbrellas and sky rockets. We had a few injuries and most guys didn’t recover until school started in September. Eyebrows came back around Thanksgiving and some never did.

It was common experience to hear a kid yell when a fragment of flaming magnesium burned through his clothing and scarred his skin.

There wasn’t a kid in our neighborhood who didn’t have a firecracker go off in his fingers before he was able to heave it. The reaction was quick. You thrust the fingers into your mouth, pulled them out again to make sure they were still attached, then tucked them between your legs while you did a two step around the back yard.

I still run into “Three Finger Jake,” my Pennsylvania friend, who has his thumb and little finger missing. As a youngster, he learned too late when to heave those crackers. The last time I saw Jake, I asked him what he thought about patriotism and the Fourth of July.

“How’s that?” He asked, sticking his three fingers behind his ear. “Speak up. I can’t hear you.”

But seriously, the words of The Declaration of Independence are as true today as they were when written 225 years ago. We should be proud of our heritage and what has been accomplished in the years since our declaration was signed.

I’m sure Three Finger Jake would also agree with that statement and look forward to another safe and sane holiday.