My neighborhood looked like the first 15 minutes of Saving Private Ryan.

Heck no, I don't have a problem with people shooting off fireworks on the 4th of July. No. Problem. At. All.  At this point, everyone knows you can do it and there isn't going to be any problem.

All up and down my block was rocking with whistlin' bungholes, spleen splitters, whisker biscuits, honkey lighters, husker doos, husker don'ts, cherry bombs, nipsy daisers, with or without the scooter stick, and whistlin' kitty chasers.

The problem tends to be the people lighting them off before and after the 4th of July, including the wee hours after the actual celebration. It's truly okay when we all have a chance to get our pets, vets and others prepared for a fireworks celebration, but getting started early or dragging it out is pretty ridiculous.

Here's my solution. One law with two codes in it.

Fireworks should be legal in Lubbock on the 4th of July from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m.  Secondly, and it's already in place, a $1,000 fine for firing fireworks before and after that, but ENFORCE it. C'mon, cops!  You could be heroes to a lot of people and pay for a lot of municipal improvements if you started issuing fireworks tickets like crazy.  Everybody wins with this scenario.

One other item: Some cities have also adopted areas where people can come together as a group and fire off fireworks. It's a great community idea. Let's at least get this done.


    Shooting Fireworks From a Moving Pickup Truck