Last Wednesday was Independence Day for the United States of America. Cue National Anthem. I hope everyone had fun and exercised safety with the fireworks. I didn't even have fireworks of my own. Personal fireworks are illegal within the city limits of Huntsville, but are perfectly legal in Madison County. Yet there are several stores in Huntsville that sell just fireworks 365 days a year.
Professional fireworks shows are allowed, and I was able to see a nice show without even leaving my apartment. All the fun without the hassel of moving. Then about an hour later, another fireworks show started. However, these seem to be launched from the apartment complex. Uh-oh, someone's not playing by the rules. I don't know if the person ever got caught, but if he or she did, the person would have to appear in court and pay a fine. I tried not to think about that while I enjoyed the festival of lights.
Enter the misbehavors. The next day the local news reported that someone was shot over an incident with fireworks. Some guys were shooting off roman candles at another person's car. When the car owner approached them, he was shot. Is this how we are supposed to celebrate our independence? Now it's clear why the city of Huntsville outlawed personal fireworks. No one here can use them safely and responsably. I found out the same kind of thing happened last year. Perosnal fireworks caused all kinds of personal and property damage throughout the city.
Let's switch topics. The night before July 4th, I went to Point Mallard. A park in Decatur, Alabama. The festival featured a beauty pagent, arts and crafts, about 17 funnel cake booths, and 10 different kinds of bounce houses. I stayed for about 10 minutes. I came because the ad for the festival said that there would be a fireworks show on Teusday and Wednesday night. Or at least that was how it was worded. The fireworks show was on Wednesday only, so there was no reason for me to stay.
The next day, I went hiking at Mount Suni, which is in Huntsville. This was more enjoyable, excluding all the bugs. There was a historic hotel built in the late 1800's, ruins of an old tavern built during the Great Depression, and beautiful views of the country side from the cliffs. And there were bugs. The only animals I saw were some guy's dog, a squirrel, and two birds (one red and one blue). Then I went to the movies and saw Scary Movie 2. I laughed, and laughed, and drank soda, and laughed...
One last note. Those critics who reviewed Scary Movie 2 are either too classy to like that kind of humor or are just common jerk critics. Believe me, the movie is better and funnier than they will lead you to believe. They remind me of The Critic's Jay Sherman, who is known to describe all movies as "It stinks!" Then again, I tend to like every movie I see in the theater. I guess I have an ability to weed out bad movies before I go to the theater. That way I don't waste money.
Written 7/9/2001 by Chris Taylor