Scoot: Boomers were a horrible example of fireworks safety - how did we survive?

As I am preparing for shows this week leading up to Thursday, the Fourth of July and America’s birthday, I found a list of safety tips for those who will be setting off fireworks for the Fourth celebration.

The list was compiled by The National Safety Council and here are a few of the important tips:

- Never allow young children to handle fireworks.
- Older children should use them only under close adult supervision.
- Anyone using fireworks or standing nearby should wear protective eyewear.
- Never hold lighted fireworks in your hands.
- Never point or throw fireworks at another person.
- Only light one device at a time.
- Do not try to re-light or handle malfunctioning fireworks.

EVERY one of those safety tips from The National Safety Council for 2024 was not followed by the Boomer kids in my neighborhood.  Not one of the aforementioned safety tips was followed by Boomers and their parents were usually right there as all of the safety tips were ignored.

How did the Boomer generation even survive?  We rode bicycles without helmets and jumped back and forth between the front and backseats of the station wagon while our parents were drinking and driving.  I’ll talk about all of those crazy things we did in future blogs, but with the 4th approaching let’s just focus on the collective reckless use of fireworks by the Boomer generation.

When I think about all the rules the Boomer generation broke with fireworks it's a wonder we don’t have a generation of grandparents with fingers or hands missing or an eye blown out. But somehow we survived.

As I talk about some of my personal memories with using fireworks to celebrate America’s birthday, I am NOT suggesting that anyone imitate our behavior in any way.  Much of what we did was wrong - terribly wrong - and could lead to serious injuries or loss of fingers or an eye.  So let us discuss what Boomer generation kids did with the much more powerful fireworks they had access to when they were growing up.

The most powerful fireworks I recall are the cherry bombs and M-80’s (also called Silver Kings).  A Cherry Bomb was about an inch in diameter and was rumored to be as powerful as an 1/8th of dynamite.  M-80s were a military explosive with 5.2 grams of powder and were used to simulate explosions for the soldiers.  Both Cherry Bombs and M-80s were very popular in the 50s and early-60s and after countless injuries that were serious both Cherry Bombs and M-80s were banned in 1966.

Cherry Bombs and M-80s had waterproof wicks that would remain lit underwater.  At East Jefferson High School in Metairie, LA, some students would light a Cherry Bomb or M-80 and while lit flush it down the toilet.  The blast was so powerful that other toilets in the building erupted like “Old Faithful.”  It was a big joke to the students, but a nightmare for the school officials.  We would be sitting quietly in class and the silence was suddenly interrupted by a deep blast under the floor.  Yea, the Boomer generation thought that was funny!

Back in the day, the drainage canal along West Esplanade in Metairie was highly populated with minnows.  Looking back I think this is horrible and I would never do it today, but I would take a Cherry Bomb or an M-80 - light it - and throw it into the canal into a school of minnows.  The underwater explosion sent countless minnows to their death as their silver carcasses floated to the top.  One explosion would send 30 - 40 dead minnows to the top.

We would build a house with Lincoln Logs and strategically place a Black Cat firecracker in different locations in the house and blow it up.  What would Boomers - or parents think if some kids did that today?  But we did it

It was fun to use Black Cats to blow up a field of plastic soldiers in recreating an active battlefield.

Boomer kids had bottle rockets and Roman candle wars where lit bottle rockets were placed in soda bottles and pointed at other kids.  Roman candles fired out hot burning flares and kids would point Roman candles at each other trying to hit the other person while the other person tried to dodge the fiery ball.

If you are part of Gen X, Millennials, or Gen Z, don’t let Boomers criticize you like they never did anything dangerous because they did dangerous things all the time.  Of course, Boomers should not encourage their kids or grandkids to be dangerous or the risk life or limb, but Boomers should also not criticize in a way that makes it seem like today’s young generations are the only young generations to go wild.

And EVERY safety rule mentioned by The National Safety Council was ignored by Boomer kids.  How did we even make it this far?