I’m going to be relieved when tonight’s fireworks bonanza happens (courtesy of “Crazy Jimmy the Rocketman.” Why is it fireworks salesguys always have to be crazy? Would people not think they were getting a bargain from “Mildly Disturbed Fred” or “Sort of Odd Sid”?). This is one of those areas where you can buy real fireworks — as opposed to the city and desert regions, where you’ll get busted if you so much as draw a picture of one — and so the revelry has been going on for about a week. The whole town has sounded like a giant bowl of Rice Krispies, as firecrackers are jubilantly lit and run away from. And those annoying screaming Petes happen from time to time as well. EEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!! I don’t know who first thought up those things, but I’m betting they were deaf and thought it was a fine bit of karmic payback. (”Listen to this, morons!”)

Was this what John Adams had in mind?
He wrote to Abigail:

“I believe that it will be celebrated by succeeding generations as the great anniversary festival. It ought to be celebrated by pomp and parade, with shows, games, guns, bells, bonfires, and illuminations from one end of this continent to the other.”

(If you’re a fan of the movie “1776″, this interesting bit of trivia is immortalized in Adams’ song “Does Anybody See What I See?” I love that movie.)

So did he predict it or did his sentiments help bring it about? Or did he just have a darned good idea? The fine upstanding people of the newly free colonies were probably much more willing to go with this vision because it also sounded like a roaring good time. If Adams had told Abigail that he could clearly see the day when the Fourth would be celebrated with hopscotch tournaments and the wearing of blue pants, they might have been more polite and the prophecy would go unfulfilled.

Oops, the sky is now one-tenth of one degree darker than it was when I started, so we’ve gotten our first boom! Better listen to whatever music I want to now before the percussion gets more regular.

It’s a good holiday, so thanks, Mr. Adams. But thanks also for not having a vision of it being a week long.