Why I am scared of fireworks.
I love new year but it also reminds me of why I am scared for everything with a loud BANG!
I can enjoy new year just as much as any other but in the back of my head I will always be reminded of the dangers that linger around with fireworks. At midnight I go outside but stay close to my own home even though I would love to walk around and watch more fireworks go off. I stay close to home because I want to be able to run back inside when need be. I really am a big fan of the flowers in the sky, the amazing colors that light up the darkness to scare away the demons for the new year to come. I even enjoy all the sounds and bangs coming to my ears. I love the moment of a year changing.
Img credits: onfocusproduction
Here in Holland it's normal to buy your own fireworks. You order them either online or you go to a special shop. You can then pick them up the day before or on the last day of the year. I think we are allowed to set of the fireworks from 10 in the morning till 1 am in the night for new year. But the times changing every year so I am a bit confused. Of course, a lot of people cross the boarders and buy fireworks there, and most of that is not allowed to have here. It's illegal and way too strong. Some crackers can blow up a car if you ask me. But I also know that it's really hard for the cops to take control on this all. And because of that we already hear a lot of fireworks going off every day in the last three weeks. Some so hard you think a whole house is blown away.
I loved to play with fireworks, I really did and yes while being younger I enjoyed setting them off as well. My parents always made sure I had the right fireworks for kids and the bigger things my mom would set off. When midnight came I was always so darn happy to go outside and look at the fireworks together with my parents, friends and family. It always was one big party full of love and laughter. Until that one day.....
Img credits: Trouw ( Dutch paper)
I was playing outside with two of my friends on the last day of the year. It was around 2 pm and cold. Because of it being so cold we played at the portal of my house. Everything was good, we were happy kids, playing in a make believe tent pretending to do what ever it is kids do. A drunk idiot walked passed us to visit one of our neighbors. He was throwing fire crackers around like they were candy but I guess that was not drunk enough for him. No, instead of walking inside where he had rang the bell, he staid outside and started to set off more heavy fire crackers. For some reason I found it scary and I staid inside the portal while my two friends, eager to see the fireworks went out and had a better look. This was making the drunk idiot happy for some reason and he started to become attention drunk next to being too drunk already to even handle fireworks.
It took him about 3 seconds to walk to me and throw a handful of firecrackers at me. There was no reason for it and the door of my house was closed. I had no time to ran away or to even move because the fire crackers exploded right after he threw them in my direction. All I can really remember from that moment is a big flash of light and a loud bang. I got thrown back against the wall of the portal because of the strong fireworks. When I opened my eyes again I was in my moms arms. She was rushing me into the bathroom while my dad called the doctor.
Img credit: http://www.vicburns.org.au/
I had no pain but half my face was pitch black. I remember my mom being scared and putting my face under the water. (( Please remember never to use cold water! make it body temp if you need to cool down a burn)).
As in a miracle the black powder washed away from my nose, cheek and eye. My mom was surprised in a good way and saw that I had not ONE burn on my face. She also checked my neck but she could only find one small burn on my jawline. After cooling and cleaning my face my mom took me to see the doctor. He checked my eyes because the hair was burned but the eyes were 100% good and so was the rest of my face. I swear I had a angel on my shoulder that day. I can still feel the blast and I even wonder how it is even possible for my face and or eyes not to get burned or worse. For some reason I got covered in the black powder but that was about it, well and some burned hairs around my eyes and brows.
But even though I have no scars to show I will always be the scar as in being scared for fireworks. I realize how freaking lucky I came out of this and I thank the lord for sending that angel to protect me that day. People lose eyes, fingers and even whole arms because of fireworks may it be because they like to stunt with it or because something goes wrong. And in my case it was someone throwing it at me.
I will enjoy the fireworks at midnight again this year but in the back of my head it will always remind me of why I am scared of it as well.
Please be careful of you set of any fireworks this year not only for yourself but also those around you!
It is a great party to celebrate but it can also turn into a nightmare within a blink of an eye.
Img credit: staffordshirefire
Thank you for taking the time to read my post! Feel free to reply and or leave a reaction about how you feel about fireworks! Again, please be careful when you use it and never throw it at someone else. No matter how small or tiny it can cause so much trouble and pain.
When I was in school, we used to trick people and put small fire crackers inside of home rolled cigarettes. It was great fun... until the incident.
Do I want to know what the incident was?
It wasn't anything serious. Some people just can't take a joke. One friend ended up getting his ass kicked after giving one to the wrong person. Nobody got burned but one dude did end up with two black eyes and a chipped tooth.
@poeticsnake well at least you didn't end up like this
sorry to drop this here but it's really s..tty in the Philippines on days like this and I do appreciate it here that there's not much of those dangerous fireworks being sold here. In the Philippines, people loose their fingers and other parts of the body for blasting fireworks and the hospital sheets get really red from all those victims.
This is very mild - some are really gross and worse than this and yet it's not being banned 100% there, only where I used to live and the nearby cities. Thanks to the mayor. Hopefully they ban this this year - it's a waste of money, cause of pollution and a non- sense risk of hurting people. I'm not a fan of it, my guinea pigs and pets used to crawl under the sofa when the ba-boms start.
yes, that looks awful. I am happy its less here but every year it gets worse in my eyes.
@poeticsnake, I notice that, too.
I hope they get more strict about it specially these days.
Pretty quiet where I live - hopefully it stays like this.
We never bought them - we just watch on our windows, I hate the smell.
Hopefully, it rains so the stink would be washed away
Most of the illegal stuff comes from Germany and Belgium I believe. I wish they would be more strict but I can also understand that the police had more jobs to do.
@poeticsnake really? I thought it's from the awaken dragon
EDIT: comment nested :( so replied here, no checkpoints in those places? Sighs.
Yes really. A lot of people go shop across the borders and bring it back here to sell. I think they stopped a van full last week with heavy fireworks.
Thank goodness for that angel. I was in Bosnia just after all the troubles and and I was convinced that it was all starting again and hid under the duvet cover, turned out to be fireworks.
yeah I can understand why! These crackers here, they seriously go beserkly hard. Last year they blew up a busstop, you know a glass house with just one bomb like firework!
Fireworks must be respected. I grew up loving fireworks, and as a young teenager had begun to experiment with saltpeter, sulfur and charcoal. One day my father came home and handed me a book he'd purchased at a surplus store. Pyrotechnics, by Weingart. I remember also he said, "If you're going to do that, maybe this will help." It was like being handed a genie bottle! Of course, at the time I couldn't purchase many of the chemicals, but I learned about the materials, color and spark production, Roman candles and fountains, set pieces, shell making and everything else. Much later I found more literature along the way and joined a fireworks club, the Western Pyrotechnic Association, and went to many of their events where I could learn to make fireworks as well as buy and shoot all kinds under the club's license while at the event, even the larger shells which are not sold to the public. Or just watch all the goings-on from the grandstand. But it wasn't all about big fireworks, it was there that I saw Senko Hanabi, the traditional Japanese sparklers, for the first time. Oh, the fractal beauty of their sparks!
Alcohol and fireworks do NOT mix. Enjoy them responsibly.