What I Did on the 4th....

CM and I visited his folks in Pico Rivera, stopping beforehand at a fireworks stand to buy a few fountains for the nieces and nephews to enjoy later in the evening. Most of Orange County banished them long ago, but I do remember buying them the last time with my Dad, how large my eyes grew seeing all the sparklers, ash snakes, powder kegs, fountains, piccolo petes, spinning flowers and pagodas, all stockpiled behind a thick wire grate, coming home with a jampacked box and not waiting until dusk to light the sparklers. The giddiness returned as CM and I picked out a few powder kegs, a Laser Dragon and a 4-pack called the "Soda Fountain" with four bottles of red, green, orange and purple. We almost bought a few tanks -- small fountains in the shape of military tanks, the fuses sprouting from the front gun turrets -- but weren't sure what others were bringing so we held back.

At his folks' house, we gorged on corn roasted still in the husk, beef ribs, carne asada, hamburgers, hot gods, sausage, and roasted peppers. I think I ate at least three ribs, a chunk of asada and managed an entire ear of corn. And still had room enough for a slice of French apple pie and 3 or 4 chocolate chip cookies. Needless to say, I sat in my chair the rest of the evening, inwardly groaning at my overstuffed stomach, while someone else lit the fireworks.

And, while the fountains spewed their sparks and colors, a few cities away at the hospital, one of CM's nieces gave birth to a 9 lb. baby boy.

Meanwhile, at my parents in Laguna Niguel, the city set off its annual fireworks display at the lake behind my parents' house. As my Dad told me, about 10 minutes into the show, a fire started in the brush on the hillside opposite the lake, where all the spectators and their cars lined the only road around the lake and which slopes almost directly behind my parents' house. The fire crew was unable to reach the spot for almost an hour due to the rush of people trying to flee the scene. My Uncle managed to snap a few pictures before the flames were extinguished. Word spread fast that the fire started thanks to someone setting off illegal fireworks near the dry hillside.

My Dad gave me an earful Saturday morning about the Homeowners Association and how little they maintain the hillsides. Supposedly, they send crews out once every 9 months to clear and trim the brush, but in the 20 years my parents have lived there, the only time anyone from the Homeowners Association does anything is when a phone call is made by a resident. maybe this will scare the Association into some kind of action.