Happy 7th of July

Last weekend I was at Dancing Rabbit for the Writers Workshop. As always, I come away from there with a renewed interest in writing. Sparks are made, seeds are planted. One of the things I have decided to play around with is the tone of my blog. I am feeling that I need to test the waters with some posts that are a bit edgier. That being said, it may be difficult for my readers to tell! For example every year since I have been a teacher, my students give me feedback on what I do well as a teacher and what I need to work on. I usually get some postives as well as some constructive criticism that I take to heart. One thing that has come up quite a bit over the years is that my students appreciate that I don't yell. This year, during the last month of school, I was frustrated with the lack of production from too many of my students. I went on a little rant in my classes and then, me being me, apologized for my anger. In one class, a student spoke up and said, "THAT was anger?!" and that I need to work on my delivery. Here is what has a bee in my bonnet this week: Fireworks. I hate them. As I blogged last year, my daughter and I have been searching for a place where you can't hear or see them and last year I was alone in the dark pond at Dancing Rabbit, looking at stars and fireflies while listening to distant coyotes. Perfect! I let my daughter know

that such a place does exist. I try to be tolerant. If a city or group wants to offer fireworks for people to ooh and ah over on the 4th of July, have at it. Personally, I don't like the noise, the cost, the effect it has on animals / some people, nor the environmental impact. Maybe it is because I am old that I have seen lots of firework displays over the years. I understand that for children, there is still a novelty. Again, I don't want to deny anyone their pleasure. Perhaps we could all switch to laser shows, like some communities do. Or start using virtual reality technology. Like too many things in our society, some limits might be nice. I am a firm believer that people should have freedoms so long as their choices don't infringe on someone elses freedom or safety.

What I do take issue with is the private use of fireworks, for weeks leading up to the 4th and for weeks afterward. The last two nights, I have neighbors somewhere setting them off at times I consider to be quiet hours. Starting about 9 and ending about midnight.

Admittedly, I have unusual sleeping habits. For the past year I have averaged just over 5 hours of sleep a night and lately I sleep from 9 p.m. - 2:30 a.m. but I consider quiet to be 10 p.m. - 8 a.m. There are many mornings when I'd like to use my tiller or chainsaw at 6 a.m. but I don't. I got out of bed a few times to listen at my window to determine just which direction and how far away they were. I was unable to figure it out. Twice I grabbed my keys and I was going to drive around to figure it out. But prudence got the better of me. I'm not sure what I would have done being conflict adverse. My thought was to find the house and position myself so that I could play my saxophone loudly at 5 a.m. I thought that either the Star-Spangled Banner or Reveille would have been fitting.

In Wisconsin, you can buy them and possess them, you just can't use them unless you have a permit. This doesn't make much sense to me. Perhaps some people enjoy the thrill of breaking the law in a very outgoing fashion. I need help understanding the attraction of lighting them off for three hours in a row, day after day. Enlighten me, if I am missing something.

Not surprisingly, I like how the cos (folks) at Dancing Rabbit approach something like this. If someone has a truck delivery coming during a quiet time they will inform the group. If something unplanned happened, they apologize. Their email list is very active and indicative of what healthy communication looks like. Ideally, I would know my neighbors and be able to have this level of conversation. That doesn't happen. I bear some of the responsibility for that. I guess the fireworks symbolize our independence. Originally, that meant for our country. Now, it seems, it means independence to

behave in whatever way you choose. Regardless of others. If I wasn't cutting back on my travel, I'd consider leaving the country over July 4th. Maybe this should be an annual retreat to the ecovillage. The thing is, given my neighbors, I'd need to be gone for about a month. Maybe not a problem!