Illegal fireworks + barking dogs = no sleep!

Alas, yesterday was the Fourth of July which means barbeque, watermelon and fireworks for most redblooded Americans. (For what it's worth, we did none of those). Tulsa puts on a big fireworks display down on the river because the "safe and sane" type of DIY fireworks are illegal in Tulsa county. You can be fined $250 if you're caught with them. I guess that doesn't deter locals, because last night, it seemed that EVERYONE and their cousin was putting off their own bottle rockets, firecrackers and roman candles.

Yesterday was a lazy day for J and I. We futzed around for the better part of the day and around 7:30 pm I decided to head to Target for some things to get ready for my trip to San Antonio. When I arrived at the shopping center, the parking lot was nearly deserted. I was there for about an hour and half and it was pretty empty. But near the end of my spree, it started filling up in trickles. I left the store with my purchases and the parking lot was PACKED with tons of families tailgaiting. And putting off their own fireworks! Not a cop in sight. Obviously, this is a regular place for locals to congregate, perhaps to catch the big display on the river (from a distance) and to also have a place to fire off their own. It was sort of bizarre. It took me twice as long to get home.

A couple of hours later we settled into bed. Only to hear more DIY fireworks going off on our block. The pugs went nuts! For hours and hours. So yeah, we got no good sleep. Not cool. Personally, I hate fireworks. Especially the DIY kind. They are dangerous, stinky and make a mess. Plus I think they are just emulating bombs and gunshots. That said, I have enjoyed a well planned, professional display at Disneyland or the ballgame, but in general, I am not a big fan of blowing things up because it leads to people thinking they can do it themselves in their backyards.