Saturday, July 5, 2008

Independence Day Rant

After a long night of hanging out on Thursday and what felt like an allergy/sinus attack, I decided to stay in and chill for the holiday. The previous two 4th of July's that I've lived in Shaw must have been spent elsewhere because I do not ever recall such loud fireworks. I felt like I was in the middle of a war zone! Like most people, I appreciate a good professional fireworks show even though I do stay away from crowded venues to see them like the National Mall. But this shit was ridiculous and went on from 6pm until at least 1:30 in the morning. What I wanted to know while enduring this and possibly going deaf, was whether or not this was legal and where was the police. According to the news, DC police were expecting a high volume of calls. The article mentions what is illegal but none of that means much to someone like me who knows nothing about fireworks. I don't know and really don't care to know what a cherry bomb is. All I know is that the article and DC government Fire and Emergency Medical Services state that firecrackers and fireworks that explode are illegal. And this stuff going off in my neighborhood was definitely exploding! Being the pissed off citizen that I was, I called the police. Of course, the dispatcher assured me that someone would be out. Two hours later, I still felt like a hostage. My other question is this: how can the police distinguish between firecrackers that sound like gunshots and actual gunshots? And given my experience with DC 911, if I had said that I heard gunshots outside my window, no one would have shown up for hours anyway. While I love my neighborhood, it's times like this that I miss upper northwest!

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8 comments:

Anonymous said...

Yeah, it gets fairly loud/annoying on the 4th around Shaw. Last year, these kids were setting off a string of fireworks for hours until one of our neighbors went out with a water hose and doused everything. Sorry you had to deal with it! And the Diva is very sick, so that's why I missed your text :(

Anonymous said...

Interesting post! I have linked to this at The DC Feed.

SteamyKitchen said...

you're right! can't distinguish the sound...

City Girl DC said...

Hey Shaw Girl - hope the Diva is feeling better!

Sean Hennessey said...

i felt like this has actually been the quietest fourth since i've been in dc.

even the weeks leading up to yesterday are usually quite loud. this year, not so much.

City Girl DC said...

Scenic Artisan- glad the 4th was quiet for you. By the way, I love your artwork!

Lola Gets said...

I, too, live in Shaw, and I hate the fireworks there too! Theres one guy who sets them off right by my house, so I am treated to the sound of cinders and ash falling on my roof and skylight, and smell the smoke and gunpowder- ummmm, delish!

L

Sean Hennessey said...

ha, it wasnt quiet at all for me, just less warzone-like than its been in the past. maybe it all went down is Shaw this year. I'm a little further east.


( and thanks for the compliment)