[MeeveStesia]

Sorry some of this is a bit rantish but its so far been a long night.
Well overall its a been a pretty good day. Now I don't mean to sound unpatriotic but not only do I see it as Independence day but I also see it as Idiots day.
Let me explain: We Thought about going to see the Fireworks downtown tonight but have decided against it. Too many kids and drunk adults shooting them off of their wood balconies, that I don't like the idea of leaving Sasha home alone around that so we decided to stay in, now that has been going on all week day and night. The one thing I don't like about the 4th of July is it brings out the drunks and the idiots. Again Not trying to sound unpatriotic but this crap ruins the holiday for everyone else.
Overall though it was a good day. We took the baby and Sasha to my grandparents house and we had a cookout and they baby got to play in the kiddie pool with her daddy and Sasha got to play with one of her canine pals. I've got pictures but unfortuately the camera is in the car and its not really safe to go out there right now...I'll get to that.
But it was the most fun Sasha has had in months. It was so good to see her happy.
Well we get home and it was just starting to get dark and we pull in and there are some kids shooting off fireworks on the other side of the fence. We live in a gated community and our building is up next to the gate. We park the car and the sparks hit the grass and pavement right next to the car thankfully the sprinklers were on. Sasha is terrified and even though on a leash tries to bolt. Then they shoot off more as we are trying to get in and the bottle rocket landed on our roof.
My husband goes back out to move the car and they are not only shooting them off they are setting them off in garbage cans and they are aiming them at our complex.
We call the courtesy officer and left the message...and the police.
Well the officer finally gets back in touch with us and we are then informed that Unfortunately because they are not on our property there is nothing the courtesy officer can do and unfortunatley because Fireworks are legal in this county there is nothing that can be done.
WTF? They are shooting them into the complex? They are landing on our buildings and there isn't a damn thing that can be done about it. Well not until the apartments are in flames and we are on the 10pm news! Praying that doesn't happen. I think its time to get better renters insurance because we have atleast 1 more 4th of July here.


So now we have a terrified dog and a very fussy baby. She won't go outside to use the restroom, nor am I willing to take her out right now, thankfully she just went before we came in. She doesn't have accidents but she has never been so scared in her life. She is back in our bedroom now because that is where she feels safest. But I've never seen her so upset. Any suggestions on how to help her calm down? Just trying to go on a normal but we are a little worked up ourselves right now as well and I know she senses that on top of being terrified.

I'm so ready for this night to be over. Any tips or advice please.

---------- Post added at 10:01 PM ---------- Previous post was at 09:55 PM ----------

Thank goodness, I think its finally over!
Disregard

[ovH9wfSJ]

It's going to be a long night for a lot of people. Turn on a radio or TV and turn it up enough to drown out the noise outside. Try to get her interested in anything that is fun for her.

[MeeveStesia]

It's going to be a long night for a lot of people. Turn on a radio or TV and turn it up enough to drown out the noise outside. Try to get her interested in anything that is fun for her.

TV is on but it just made matters worse because the fireworks don't bother the baby but the noise from the TV does. She has slept through both firework shows we went through. But having the TV on keeps her awake as does the dog barking. They are gone now so lets hope they stay gone. That was a definate fire hazard. I pulled out a bone for Sasha but she just rather stay under the bed now that its over I'm going to try to coax her out here with us

[JulietOreira]

My husband goes back out to move the car and they are not only shooting them off they are setting them off in garbage cans and they are aiming them at our complex.
We call the courtesy officer and left the message...and the police.
Well the officer finally gets back in touch with us and we are then informed that Unfortunately because they are not on our property there is nothing the courtesy officer can do and unfortunatley because Fireworks are legal in this county there is nothing that can be done.
WTF? They are shooting them into the complex? They are landing on our buildings and there isn't a damn thing that can be done about it. Well not until the apartments are in flames and we are on the 10pm news!

Your husband is a better man than me because right about here is where I would be thinking of ways to return fire.

We have had similar problems in the past. Its a pity the the Fourth is not a holiday where we celebrate our independence from stupid neighbors.

[selayeffethy]

I got lucky! Earlier in the night the neighbors got together and let the kids play with sparklers and then watch some fireworks. Between 11pm and midnight I noticed the dogs hadn't minded and it was finally cool enough to walk, so my son and I took the dogs out.

We live by a school which is right next door to another school. The schools sit between a total of 4 cul de sacs. People go light off their fireworks in the parking lots because they are so big and its safer.

For the hour we were out adults were letting off more and they were a bit tipsy hanging out from all the cul de sacs in groups, but the dogs walked by them and their booming light thingies with no problem! I was so proud! They even watched the one that fires off a bunch into the sky in quick succession and didn't flinch.

---------- Post added at 02:20 PM ---------- Previous post was at 02:19 PM ----------

All the fireworks I saw were illegal and bought just across state lines, but the cops really don't enforce it much as they only have so many officers to deal with too many calls. They pick what sounds dangerous and don't bother anyone else.

[Zhgpavye]

I got lucky! Earlier in the night the neighbors got together and let the kids play with sparklers and then watch some fireworks. Between 11pm and midnight I noticed the dogs hadn't minded and it was finally cool enough to walk, so my son and I took the dogs out.

We live by a school which is right next door to another school. The schools sit between a total of 4 cul de sacs. People go light off their fireworks in the parking lots because they are so big and its safer.

For the hour we were out adults were letting off more and they were a bit tipsy hanging out from all the cul de sacs in groups, but the dogs walked by them and their booming light thingies with no problem! I was so proud! They even watched the one that fires off a bunch into the sky in quick succession and didn't flinch.

---------- Post added at 02:20 PM ---------- Previous post was at 02:19 PM ----------

All the fireworks I saw were illegal and bought just across state lines, but the cops really don't enforce it much as they only have so many officers to deal with too many calls. They pick what sounds dangerous and don't bother anyone else.

That's the way it is here too. I grew up in a 'fireworks family',my dad worked on public displays-my uncle was a master firework builder,all of us were PGI members and I KNOW the stuff they are setting off here is at LEAST class B arial shells(wich you need an explosive permit to own,set off,and store) I am pretty sure there were class A salutes going off too...(no WAY should the public have those!)if it makes MY house shake and the windows rattle from 2 blocks away,its not likely legal to the general public.
I honestly DON"T have ''issues'' with the RESPONSIBLE public having these types of fireworks,but the actual 'chance' that ALL of them putting off these illegal shells being considered ''responsible public'' is about nil.

The way the OP said the people were shooting off the fireworks at buildings is a VERY dangerous situation.They could have hurt themselves, or someone else-or caused nasty house or brush fires.It's all ''fun'' and ''cool'' until somone has their hand blown off or causes a house fire,by ignoring the proper safety measures.I feel bad for you having to deal with this,its not safe,not responsible,and certainly not legal. The traditions involving fireworks have been around for thousands of years,and people like that will make SURE it won't be around for much longer.(thanks assholes for your innapropreate use of explosives,that will inevitably lead to ban everyone else from having them too)

Babies and dogs are unfortunatly not allways as impressed as us adults with the loud bangs and pretty colors.I hope that you survived the 4th ok, and that the kids didn't get too too upset.

[MeeveStesia]

We survived the 4th okay but it wasn't a fun holiday. You see we come from a county where fireworks are illegal and for the very reasons of the happenings of last night. Where we live now they are legal and well if people aren't going to be responsible about it well then they should probably be illegal here too. Today I went out and walked around and found the remains of several fireworks and bottle rockets and so forth on our side of the fence and on the roof. I'd say we were lucky.

But they aren't. Called my insurance agent today though and they are working me up a better policy because we have atleast 1 more New Years and 1 more July 4th at this current residence. Today has been much better, we took our daughter to the zoo for the 1st time so that makes up for the night we had last night.

[selayeffethy]

New Years and the 4th are the worst where I have lived. Making fireworks illegal hasn't helped much, so don't put too much faith in that, SBT. It was illegal here since I was a kid and our whole family used to pool money and send a couple guys to a neighboring state to purchase whats illegal to sell here. The vendors in the area that come up from other states sell out of the back of vans and use police scanners so they can get out of Dodge if someone calls on them for selling. All making it illegal did was give the police a reason to arrest anyone they can actually catch, but mostly they just put a stop to it and pass out tickets that are nothing more than fines and a measly misdemeanor. And thats assuming they can catch someone red handed. we used to post lookouts and light them off in a public park that bordered my cousins house. If the cops were coming, we just hopped the fence, put most people inside and claimed the guys lighting off those horrible illegal fireowrks went thataway! >>

New Years bothers me the most. Thats when people love to shoot off their guns into the sky and we all know what goes up must come down! Thats also the holiday people like to set off 1/4 sticks of dynamite at midnight which have been known to break a few windows.

[MeeveStesia]

New Years and the 4th are the worst where I have lived. Making fireworks illegal hasn't helped much, so don't put too much faith in that, SBT. It was illegal here since I was a kid and our whole family used to pool money and send a couple guys to a neighboring state to purchase whats illegal to sell here. The vendors in the area that come up from other states sell out of the back of vans and use police scanners so they can get out of Dodge if someone calls on them for selling. All making it illegal did was give the police a reason to arrest anyone they can actually catch, but mostly they just put a stop to it and pass out tickets that are nothing more than fines and a measly misdemeanor. And thats assuming they can catch someone red handed. we used to post lookouts and light them off in a public park that bordered my cousins house. If the cops were coming, we just hopped the fence, put most people inside and claimed the guys lighting off those horrible illegal fireowrks went thataway! >>

New Years bothers me the most. Thats when people love to shoot off their guns into the sky and we all know what goes up must come down! Thats also the holiday people like to set off 1/4 sticks of dynamite at midnight which have been known to break a few windows.

New Years is the worst. The last 2 places I've lived you wake up on New Years Day and walk outside and every other car the back window has been smashed in. That hasn't happened here. But it wouldn't surprise me this year. Last night two women got into a fight in the parkinglot and one was throwing her clothes off at the other and screaming. And then her husband and her had an all out war in the parking lot after that until he kicked her out of their place and told her not to come back, and not to try to come see the kids. So I don't know what was going on, you could hear it all. I thought I was living back on the East side of the City. Which is a rougher place where this kind of crap goes on. Not in the little rural town I grew up in that I moved back to to raise my child in a better environment and community, where I grew up. That kind of crap doesn't go on here, it just doesn't. But I guess it does now.

The last New Years we were at our old place we took our one car to a relatives house and parked our other car in our neighbors garage. They were going to be gone so they said we could use their garage. Last year we were at this place and only like 2 windsheilds were busted and I think the car actually belonged to the person who did it. This year we are going to be visiting my daughters grandparents so we will be taking the nicer car and leaving the other one at my relatives house. Won't be risking it if this kind of stuff is going on here now.

Funnily enough when we lived in the city, it was a rougher area but we didn't have any issues with fireworks. People just didn't even try it. We also had a coutesy officer on property where if anyone had them, he enforced the law. Even if they weren't our property but the field accross the street. It wasn't a bad place to live, I even thought about moving back at one point. The community we lived in was nice. But the town and area around it was rough, the schools are terrible, You would hear about a shooting or stabbing down the road every couple of days. We did have several robberies in our building. I think having dogs is what kept them out of our unit. Plus If they were staking us out at all we so random back them about when we were home and werent. But It just wasn't the kind of place I wanted to raise my daughter.

My husband is actually up for a job in KY and in IN and it would pay enough for us to go ahead and have a house. But sadly either job isn't going to be available for another year. It would be a job that he would be transfering to from his current department and they've already been talking to him about it. They aren't sure which place they want him to go yet though. But it would be nice to actually be in a house instead of an apartment

[selayeffethy]

Oooh, I hope he gets the job he wants most. It is so much nicer living in a house and not having to share walls. Plus you won't have to worry about a rental landlord or management company changing their minds about breed of dogs allowed.

Our mortgage was actually slightly cheaper than our rent and that was back when houses were much more expensive to buy. The other bonus is you can look for a place with a basement and a garage. Just put the cars in the garage and hang out in the basement on the 4th and New Years to avoid a lot of the noise. We have our family room in the finished part of the basement and its great! Cool in the summer, warmer in the winter and has space for crates, dog bowels a large dog food container without having to trip over such things in other rooms.

[MeeveStesia]

Oooh, I hope he gets the job he wants most. It is so much nicer living in a house and not having to share walls. Plus you won't have to worry about a rental landlord or management company changing their minds about breed of dogs allowed.

Our mortgage was actually slightly cheaper than our rent and that was back when houses were much more expensive to buy. The other bonus is you can look for a place with a basement and a garage. Just put the cars in the garage and hang out in the basement on the 4th and New Years to avoid a lot of the noise. We have our family room in the finished part of the basement and its great! Cool in the summer, warmer in the winter and has space for crates, dog bowels a large dog food container without having to trip over such things in other rooms.

I admit it would be nice to move away and it would also be very nice to go ahead and buy a house. At this point with the job being so up in the air as in are we staying or going, it also has halted things. Plus with me getting laid off right before I got pregnant and hubby was laid off at the same time for a few months. Then he got this job and things are going great. Just not sure how much I would want to live in Northern Indiana. The job is in South Bend. I actually know people up there and have visited many times but its so cold in the winter and I have a circulatory condition that I have had since childhood. And neither one of us southerners know how to drive in the snow and ice. But I wouldn't mind it because I've liked what I have seen of it over the years. The other position is in Lexington and We would still be close to family without being too close. There would be the same distance from us to My Moms as it would be from us to my Dads from there. That would be nice. And there would be a much further distance at either location from MIL

Fingers crossed but not getting hopes up because this is atleast a year off and watch them send him somewhere across country at their California Office or something instead. I don't want to leave the East.

[qCGfQR9T]

Thank God Delaware has banned any and all fireworks, sparklers, bottle rockets, etc. No form of fireworks at all. Not even the little poppers or cap guns!

It seems extreme, but it really does cut down on the number of neighborhood displays.. everyone goes to the spectacular public displays, and it's quite fun.

Granted, when I was on duty the 4th, I about got my truck hit by a firework of some sort. People were setting them off in the street, and didn't wave or anything to indicate that I might be driving into its path! ugh.

I feel your pain, but if it had been me, I would have definitely been either calling up my cop buddies, or threatening to sic my dogs on them. No one puts my kid or my dogs in danger like that. I've been known to storm outside and yell at folks for teasing my dogs through the fence. Can't wait to move to the country!