fireworks

The year was circa 1955 and I seem to remember that it was summertime. My younger brother and I had early morning paper routes in Augusta, Georgia in areas that adjoined each other. Neither of us were kids that were given to very much mischief, especially at night, since we arose at 4am every morning to attend to our routes.

Augusta is on the banks of the Savannah River and that body of water is the boundary between Georgia and South Carolina. Fireworks were illegal in one state and not in the other, we felt unfortunate to be living in the one in which they couldn’t be purchased. Being readily available in our neighbor state, it was not at all unusual for carloads of folks to cross the river and purchase the explosive devices, especially around any holiday and come back to Georgia to set them off on the sly.

This illegal practice was mostly tolerated by the local constabulary unless it became extreme or someone was injured. On occasion my brother and I would hitch a ride with an older co-conspirator and purchase some minor fireworks, mostly the small firecrackers that wouldn’t blow off fingers if held too long. This occasion had happened again and I had purchased many of the smaller poppers but had bought one very large device for a special event – unknown at the time.

This item was made up of three cardboard tubes mounted on a small wooden base. The tubes were about four inches long and had a fuse to the first, another fuse went from the first to the second and one from there to the third – this caused them to ignite a minute or so apart. Each tube had a powder charge which propelled another exploding container high into the air like a small cannon before it concluded in a loud boom.

The plan that formed in my mind was to take this device along with me when I left the house (about 4:15am) one morning and light it off in front of the house of a friend of mine about a half-block away. This plan was to be great fun and word would get around that I was really bold and brave to do such a stunt – neither of these character traits were things in which I was particularly strong.

The chosen morning finally arrived and my brother and I set off to the place where we picked up our papers. I sent him on a little ahead since I was older and faster on the bike. When he was safely away, I stopped, set the fireworks device in the middle of the dark road in front of my friend’s house and lit the fuse. My running leap on the bike and furious peddling caused me to be nearly to the next corner before the first tube shot its boomer into the air.

The joy of my prank suddenly left me when this first explosion happened and adrenalin pulsed through every muscle, propelling the bike ever faster. The second boom brought great fear and the third brought the dread of impending doom. It had somehow never occurred to me that this device would be that loud. Making my younger brother promise to never utter a word about this dumb adventure, we just continued our routes as if nothing had happened.

The days rocked on into weeks and nothing was ever said about the disturbing neighborhood noises and my brother and I were content to let it just fade from everyone’s memories without ever knowing the perpetrators thereof. Years later I happened on this friend and when discussing the old days, I mentioned the explosion adventure and he didn’t even remember it. The time I had spent worrying about getting caught and nobody remembered!

This reminds of other long ago wrong doings in my life that I didn’t want anyone to know about either. These transgressions were of a spiritual nature and it seemed that I had no way to make them right until I once again encountered the God of my youth. Upon my confession, He forgave every wrong I had committed and if I err even today the forgiveness is still there if I only ask – this will work for any and all that desire to be forgiven. ec