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

Wednesday, Jul 16, 2008 - 03:59:49 pm CDT

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.

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MeMyselfAndI
Jul 21, 2008 12:24 AM
That's what happens in the so called "red states", we celebrate being Americans, and America instead of damning and degrading the country that provides us with the liberties and livelihood that we have, unlike the "blue states" that seem to continually state how horrible and worthless we are as a nation. I hope you noticed the difference.
fireworks
Jul 21, 2008 1:04 PM
We went to the Butler Co. fair this past weekend and saw the fireworks. WOW!! Thank you to the fairboard and all the businesses for contributing. The display was wonderful. The fair overall was good also. The improvements to the fairgrounds was a nice show for us to see. They have really done a nice job for their fair. Once again, the fireworks were great!!
Katie
Jul 21, 2008 6:10 PM
I am glad you and your friends enjoyed the fireworks and displays in Columbus. That's what the 4th is about. However........the main reason that fireworks are banned in some states is because of the high incidence of injuries and possibility of fires. I live in a metropolis where this year from my balcony I could see fireworks displays in all directions, just done safely. I remember one year while visiting Columbus when we were celebrating on a lake and one of the rockets came across the lake and hit a girl in the eye, and one of the cabin roofs started on fire from another. It isn't that other states might not be patriotic!
Psh...get the facts straight
Jul 28, 2008 8:32 AM
WOW ...memyselfandi.....maybe you should think before you speak...maybe they werent able to use fireworks in arizona b.c...lets see its a DESERT! And lets see...it doesnt rain much in deserts so things can catch on fire easily..it doesnt matter what "color" the state is geeze....and it so dumb how some nebraskans think that they are republicans and dont understand what they stand for. Also they complain how the politicians in nebraska are horrible...and then we go on and vote for the same types of ppl....