Sparks are Flying

Growing up on the Canadian /US border I looked forward to the once a year huge fireworks demonstration that Windsor-Detroit is famous for. Every year in celebration of our two countries birthday we have an International Freedom Festival that culminates with three barges in the middle of the river entertaining over a million viewers. We all are mezmorized by the colours and lights exploding in the air for over half an hour. They burst into maples leaves and stars high above the skyline for all to see. This is fireworks as I have grown to know and love them.
Fireworks here are hardly the same. I was woken up this morning at 6am to the sound of firecrackers blasting, bursting and popping all around me. There has barely been a lull all day as almost every family around me hosts their own mini firework display. Some are the type that shoot like rockets and bounce off the windows above, others are long strips of red paper that send sparks shooting off in all directions, others are attached to a sting that you hang out your window, causing fire to rain down on the people walking below. After over 16 hours of nonstop explosions resonating around me I have been reminded that not all fireworks are as beautiful or colorful as the exceptional show I grew up watching. In fact some of them are just plain loud.

My friend recently posted the following on her blog regarding this erupting holiday of light and sound “There's the quantity ,we heard the average home here spends approximately 3,000 worth of local currancy($450 USD) on fireworks for this celebration. Not sure that could be correct though. (That's two months worth of rent for me!) and the incredible scariness/ foolishness of shooting them off: little kids running between huge piles of missile-type shooters and crackers thrown onto sidewalks bustling with pedestrians or inches from homes."

All of this excitement leaves the ground littered with red paper and the air heavy with the smell of ash and smoke. The constant cracking has the children running around screaming with glee , while the loud bagging often prompts car alarms to go off incessantly . A simple walk outside is like an overload to the senses.