Happy Drunken Fourth

I was kept awake for hours last night by the drunken 4th of July party going on across the street. Somehow I don't think the founding fathers (and mothers) foresaw the holiday as an excuse to get drunk and annoy the neighbors. I'm all for a few fireworks, a big barbecue, family and friends gathering--but when it turns into the melee that our neighbor's party was, that crosses the line. They had what were probably illegal fireworks, like cherry bombs, that went off like bombs, at any rate, practically in my ear. I could have shut the window, but then, I'd have suffocated since it was too cool for the air conditioner to work. After each blast, there'd be a chorus of drunken shouting and high-fiving. Finally, they gave it up, and I could go to sleep, only to be plagued with bad dreams. Is it any wonder that people who live in war zones have stress and trauma? Why is it that some people, mainly male, think loud booms are entertaining?

I confess, my most excellent spouse is a true male when it comes to BOOM, BANG, POW!!! He loves that stuff. He loves car chases and shoot-outs and all that. I can take it in small quantities, but it rattles my nerves. Loud noises of any kind rattle my nerves. I don't like loud concerts, loud voices, loud cars (no NASCAR for this old girl, please!), loud motorcycles, loud horns.... Why do other people? As the old saying goes, it takes all kinds. My version, which I prefer, is not that it necessarily takes all kinds. It's just that there ARE all kinds. And the fuller the world gets, the more aware I become that my kind (people who don't like loud noises) are in the minority. S.