I. Hate. July. Fourth.

[icewolf]

I detest this holiday. With a passion.

The Declaration of Independence, I love. Our national habit of celebrating it with munitions? Not so much.

You see, I have had, my entire life, a thoroughgoing phobia regarding loud noises. Dick Cheney was directly responsible for my worst episode. Went to a naval commissioning at which he was also present. The Vice President gets a 19 gun salute. We were seated underneath the CARRIER'S CANNONS. I and every five-year-old in a ten mile radius were in tears. Last year I did my decannual "Brave Little Soldier" Thing and actually stood outside my backdoor and watched the Columbia fireworks over the lake. Not this year. This year it will be me, the cats, and any small children in the vicinity under the bed.

And who the hell thought that selling fireworks to inner city youths was a good idea?! Who thinks that fireworks in untrained-and-very-possibly-drunken hands is a good idea period?!

Additionally, a meme.

Swiped from angevin2   who originally swiped it from wordweaverlynn  on friendsfriends:

Find your 42nd entry ever. Yes, this may require some counting and basic math. Deal with it.

Link to that entry in a new entry. This is the meaning of your life.

Apparently, my life's meaning involves dust allergies, moving, and a lot of parentheticals. Not too surprisiing, actually.

Comments

[noncalorsedumor.livejournal.com]

:-(
You and Zorro should hang out. You would have much to discuss regarding loud noises and the banning thereof. (He is very polite with cats.)

I think most unscrupulous fireworks merchants--i.e., pretty much all of them--think it's a great idea to sell fireworks to anyone with a pulse. It's having them in their own neighborhoods that's a bad idea. WHO WOULD HAVE THOUGHT THAT THE TWO WERE RELATED?

I'm from NH, home of Atlas Fireworks, where there are many places to purchase fireworks. It's also illegal to possess them/set them off if you're not a licensed dealer-type-person in most towns, but again, it seems no one in charge has made that connection. Here in MA, I'm pretty sure the neighborhood kids (and parents) just drive ten minutes north to NH to get their fireworks, and set them off for a couple of weeks around the fourth. These people suck.

[icewolf010.livejournal.com]

I have always heartily agreed with Zorro's stance on loud noises. I'm okay with the T-word (< whisper > thunderstorms < /whisper >) because I can see it coming. But other than that, loud noises--cars backfiring, fireworks, steamer boat whistles, trains, et cetera--SUCK.

Let him know there's always plenty of room under the bed! Hm. Maybe we should organize. Maybe the Brotherhood of Under the Bed.

[noncalorsedumor.livejournal.com]

Zorro does not believe in Under the Bed, sadly. If he is calm enough to seek security, he prefers In Between The Bed And The Wall, or Between the Coffee Table And Couch.

At all other times of loud noises and anxiety, he prefers On The Coffee Table. I'm not sure what's so great about that location, but he was on there for about twenty minutes last night during a thunderstorm.

[icewolf010.livejournal.com]

Huh. Maybe his phobia stems from a bad car-incident when he was homeless in Puerto Rico. It would explain why he feels the need to get up off the ground when the loud noises start.

At any rate--Poor Zorro!

[noncalorsedumor.livejournal.com]

Well, it comes after a period of knocking things off the coffee table, barking, and pawing at me, so my guess it's all part of a bid for attention ... but really, couldn't he do that by jumping on the couch next to me? I just don't get it. I also don't get what knocking over some books is supposed to do, but I'm Just A Human.

Almost hate to say it but....

[the-mithril-man.livejournal.com]

"This year it will be me, the cats, and any small children in the vicinity under the bed."

Nope, nope nope. You made me a promise there lil' missy. You are going to the roof. Don't worry you'll be good and drunk before you get there and you'll have a wonderful time. Trust me. (insert big Sh*t eating grin here)

[aeonata.livejournal.com]

My phobia isn't so much the nosies (although I don't like the ones with whistles) it's flying fireworks. Having almost had my face removed by a roman candle at 9 years old, I'm pretty much under the bed myself whenever someone shouts "Bottle Rockets!" But you've got my support on this one. Can I join the Brotherhood of Under the Bed too?

[gallen-storm.livejournal.com]

So are we coming to your place for the 4th or are we not? Just curious.