Explosive language

Me watching TV prior to "July 4th" holiday:

Pyro City, my "home for Black Cat" fireworks, ended their intense commercial with a, "Hey, kids, we've added new Pyro-Heroes," (or some such thing) and showed a ring of anime-type characters in different solid-colored outfits like PowderPuff PowerRangers.

Now that's marketing something dangerous to kids. If they're gonna make silly demands on a poisonous substance people use willingly (at least at first, pre-addiction) — tobacco — then I think someone ought to care about promoting experimentation with explosives.

There was no disclaimer at the bottom of the TV screen about the fact of various cities' regulations on the use or possession of fireworks. Nothing about being a certain age — aren't they restricted to non-minors? And when did the tobacco-age go from 18 to 21? My father once asked me that question about alcohol. Without looking these things up, I have no answers.

I'm against regulations, you know. I really don't care how many kids are unparented enough to get hurt … adults in my personal experience have died from fireworks and from tobacco … and when I was in college, I was dumbfounded by the dumb behavior of "honors students" off campus (my friends) — who shoots fireworks at their own home? Ah, renters! Most were smokers back then, too.

I'm also against calling Independence Day "Happy Fourth of July." I declare, that's like saying "Happy December 25," if you are Christian. Which many of us are not, but we say "Merry Christmas" like conservative radio hosts admonish us to anyway. Because it's convention. And it's easier. I find the convention of saying "happy 4th" to be an interesting comparison point.

This is the one day (tomorrow) I feel lame not having a proper American flag.