Happy Fourth Of July
Around July 4th, my girlfriend and I skip the big fireworks down by Chicago’s Grant Park, as well as the smaller displays held in the surrounding communities. Instead, we just head out to our balcony and watch the incredible show in the skies above us, courtesy of the local pyromaniacs. Truth is, anything that’s not tied down and fireproofed is summarily blown up in this neighborhood. And boy, are the pyros good at it. Then again, they should be, as they’ve been steadily, and increasingly, practicing their trade now for about the last two weeks. Apparently, this is the case in other Chicago neighborhoods as well. Eric Zorn of the Chicago Tribune discussed the annual ritual last weekend:
If our little neighborhood 4th of July parade had a grand marshal, I’d urge organizers to invite Edward G. Barton, 36, of Joliet to take the ceremonial baton.
Barton’s neighborhood, like mine, suffers from the presence of fireworks idiots: celebrators of the tradition I call “booms,” who light off their illegal pyrotechnics almost daily for up to several weeks before Independence Day, the only evening when it’s arguably appropriate.
So, police said, early June 21, Barton walked over to the bedroom window of a neighboring fireworks idiot who allegedly kept him awake much of Saturday night and fired three rounds from a 12-gauge shotgun into the ground.
Police charged him with reckless discharge of a firearm and possessing firearms without a FOID card. But I, along with 77 percent of respondents to Change of Subject click survey, charge him with being a hero.
His act wasn’t vigilantism. It was the administration of a heaping dose of the alleged idiot’s own medicine.
Down with the Idiocracy. Long live the Republic. And God Bless America.
I wish all of you a safe, happy, Fourth of July weekend.
Christopher E. Hill
Editor
“Joe Dirt” (2001) Fireworks Stand Scene
YouTube Video Link
July 4th, 2009 at 3:09 pm
Yup too bad the guy with the shotgun wasn’t a cop, or he would have been “the hero”
I saw something like this the other day on TV, only thing was the guy that came out to quiet down some loud party type was a cop that lived in the area. The guy got jumped but managed to call backup, and of course the “other guy” went to jail with class 3 felony.
Not to say that was what should have happened, but it just goes to show you, had he been just a “plain citizen” you can bet he also would have been charged with inciting a riot and gone to lockup too.
So yeah I think the guy with the shotgun was well within his rights too.
BTW I carry a NRA card, along with other stuff, smirks
July 5th, 2009 at 9:50 am
Thanks for the comment Hoody.
July 7th, 2009 at 1:54 pm
This incident reminds me of a news story a few years back. A guy rigged up a tripwire & shotgun inside his warehouse, which had been broken into ~7 times within the past year.
Guess what. Yup – the next time that burgular showed up, he was killed. The guy was sent to jail for a few years, and the prosecutor’s comment still sticks in my mind:
“Suppose the warehouse caught fire, and that had been a fireman who had instead been there?”
Again – ‘hero vs. plain citizen.’
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Yeah, what with all the local Indian (feather, not dot) fireworks stands, there were plenty of pyrotechnics going on in our area. I had the water hoses ready, just in case.
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Almost off-topic, but since this is a July 4th thread…
Was outside next to the house grilling pork ribs on the 4th, when a deer walked out of the woods just 25 feet away.
It didn’t seem very clever for that deer to show up while a man is grilling meat. Need to buy that crossbow I’ve been thinking about…
-Mammoth
July 7th, 2009 at 3:57 pm
@Mammoth
Yeah I remember that one too, it also left a mark on my back. I get so tired of this 5th Branch of DOD thinking they are the only ones able or capable anymore to be trusted with a firearm or be capable of self protection.
I’m about ready to call it quits being in the middle with the snot rag headed arthritic finger signers, and the kids with badges and water walking authority and join some militia in Montana.
Unless your in either group your screwed anymore. Its like your just waiting to be charged with something from the time you get up to the time you go to bed these days.
July 8th, 2009 at 8:50 am
Thanks for sharing that Mammoth. Must have been some good BBQ, as it sounds like the deer liked the aroma a lot and had to check out the source.
July 8th, 2009 at 9:03 am
Thanks for the comment Hoody.
“Unless your in either group your screwed anymore. Its like your just waiting to be charged with something from the time you get up to the time you go to bed these days.”
I agree with you there Hoody— you have to be careful where you tread these days.