Out-of-staters get a real bang out of Nebraska Fourth

Folks around Columbus really know how to celebrate the Fourth of July! I have always loved seeing the American flag waving proudly in front of businesses and offices. Here I get to see them in front of homes too.

And of course there’s a lot of seasonal decorations as well -- from red white and blue flowers blooming in front yards, to patriotic banners, wreaths on doors and “Uncle Sam” yard art.

Such moments make me feel like I’m living the “good life” straight out of a Norman Rockwell painting!

But the tradition of decorating for the holidays isn’t the only great thing about celebrating Independence Day in Columbus -�“ it’s the fireworks! This year we had friends from Arizona visit with enough time to enjoy blowing things up the week leading up to the Fourth.

Because Arizona doesn’t allow the sale of fireworks to the general public as they do here, it was a lot of fun for our friends and family to immerse themselves in this experience.

Going to the fireworks stand was like being a kid in a candy store! We made daily trips (sometimes twice daily) to buy all kinds of smoky, noisy, colorful, impressive fireworks that were sure to “wow” the neighbors (or so we thought)!

The night of the third, we enjoyed the Columbus fireworks display, which was quite impressive. But we had even more fun putting on our own show and watching those of our neighbors.

We had explosives going off all around us, and we loved it. The kids couldn’t get enough of the zips, and the adults played “Dueling Fireworks” with each other to see who had the best display.

So, we’ve found a new tradition for our July 4th celebration -�“ we’re going to have our “out of state” friends and family come each year to help us blow things up!

The hard part, though, will always be waiting until dark sets in to enjoy the show.

Until the next July 4th celebration, let’s keep on enjoying the rare “Norman Rockwell lifestyle” that we seem to have here.