fireworks, revisited

Two years ago, I wrote an entry that endures as one of my all-time favorites.
It’s timely and topical, and (most importantly) frees me up this weekend to hang out with my wife.
Longtime readers will probably remember this, and I hope that new readers enjoy it as much as I do.
Have a great weekend, everyone.

Fireworks
(Originally published on July 5, 2002)
When I was growing up, my family spent Fourth of July with my father’s aunt and uncle, at their fabulous house in Toluca Lake.
It was always a grand affair and I looked forward to spending each Independence Day listening to Sousa marches, swimming in their enormous pool and watching a fireworks show on the back patio.
This fireworks display was always exciting because we were in the middle of LA County, where even the most banal of fireworks

Discover more from WIL WHEATON dot NET

Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.

54 thoughts on “fireworks, revisited”

  2. Great story. Have a great time with your family this weekend?
    Am I first? Heh, imagine that…all these people try and I don’t even care about it.
    Anyway happy 4th!
    ~m~

  3. No one can know the depth of embarrassment and shame you feel in your own soul during such and angst-filled moment…but thanks for sharing with us again and making us think of our own moments in life…

  5. fireworks are illegal in the county i live in. but not where i work. i went out today at lunch and bought myself 2 boxes of sparklers to share with my favorite 5 year old and his mommy.
    and all afternoon i have danced around my desk in glee singing “i’ve got sparklers, i’ve got sparklers”
    do we every really grow up?
    happy fourth to you and yours wil! hope it’s safe and sane.

  7. My father always has said, “No need to relive the past because it is long done and gone. Can’t fix what we have done or attempt to do it another way. What has been done has been done for a reason.”
    Fireworks are illegal where I live as well, Riverside County, Calif.
    I too have had bad times with fireworks, nearly caught my brother’s shirt on fire when I was a kid. But we were only allowd to play with sparklers. Except for my cousin when he was older he was allowed to play with fountains and much more. I didn’t light my first foundtain or so till I was long gone away from home.
    So nowdays we just go over to my inlaws place to watch fireworks shooting off at some park in Riverside.
    Enjoy your 4th of July and BBQ dinner!

  8. This story reminds me of the very stupid things I did as a teen, and perhaps older. The silly mindset I had back then was that one single mistake defined you, instead of all the great things you did. And what’s wrong with mistakes and flaws. Eventually I learned to own them. To almost be proud of them. There is great learning in them of course.
    It came full circle for me when one day I was involved in a ‘blow out’ in a house several friends shared. Relations degraded, and our home divided into two camps. I and the leader of the ‘other side’ eventually had a huge scrap. I was tired of taking any more ‘shit’ and wasn’t holding back. As her arguments were failing, she tried to belittle me by bringing up a past mistake I made. My response was to say really plainly and honestly, that “yep, I did that, what’s your point?!” She was completely confused by my response, and diffused in her response. She had no ammo against me because I didn’t accept it. It was quite a satisfying moment actually, because I got control of an old inner ogre that used to control me. And also because she had this really confused look on her face when she saw I was unaffected. Priceless.
    Basically, I learned to be the first one to point out my own mistakes. No one can make me feel little by their judgement. I don’t let them. It’s made possible by true honesty. This is actually the reason I like to come read your blog. I hear some of that sort of honesty coming from you Wil.

  10. I remember reading that entry when you first wrote it. It always makes me feel happy and giggly and nostalgic. And also a little flashback-y, since I was once chased by one of those fireworks that zooms around on the ground.
    I ran into a lawnchair and fell over trying to get away from it, but I was only about six years old. Eh. Anyway, happy Fourth, Wil!

  11. i love reading this story and i think you should make it a tradition to put it up every year around this time to share with others who havent read it. Brook

  12. i read “fireworks” again this year…it’s a wwdn classic…ever since i read it the first time, it has been a part of the image that comes to mind when i come here and read your latest posts…i don’t know if it makes any sense…but alot of what you write is better understood, if you have read that story…of all of your entries, that is the one i love the most…i was hoping you would repeat it this year…thank you!

  13. I grew up in LA, and when I moved to Northern California and discovered that fireworks are legal in some places…crazy, man! I always still feel like we’re doing something naughty, it’s just ingrained by now.

  14. Wil –
    this is quite honestly a brilliant post. You are an eloquent, albeit geeky, guy. The world could use more like you!
    Regards
    Ryan

  15. Thanks so much for posting this story again. It brought back memories of my own 4th of July celebrations with my family back in the ’80s.
    Hope you have a wonderful weekend with your family.
    Teresa Villa

  16. I think this may just be up in my top three favorite entries ever 🙂 I’m glad you posted it again for those of us who haven’t been able to get to that point in our archival reading just yet! I love reading the growing up/family entries because they remind me to appreciate the times my (very spread out) family has gotten to spend together. Happy 4th 🙂 Write your name in the air with a sparkler for me 🙂

  17. I like the post very much; it was well-written and entertaining. But it especially hit home in reminding me of mistakes in my past that even 30 years later make me cringe. At what point will we get over those and stop feeling like a dork?
    (P.S. I love geeks, they are the smartest and most interesting people I know!!)

  18. A charming story, which reminds me . . . Though I am now an ancient fogey, I well remember my sullen years and their main cause: teenagers are expected to behave like adults but are treated like children. Try to remember to treat teenage Nolan and teenage Ryan like adults even when they are sullen and childish; it may help. But I’m sure you know that and will get it right – eventually.

  19. It’s a real shame that you had to be in a big time movie before the family accepted and embraced you as one of their own. It reminds me why I don’t talk with most of my family anymore.
    I’m not wierd or anything (Yeah, that’s what they ALL say, ain’t it? lol…. 😉 But I’m sure you were a great little guy as an early teen, and I think it would have been a pleasure to know you way back then, as it is to know you in a small way now. I’m sure as a young teen guy I would have had a totally massive crush all over you. 🙂
    Anyway, thanks so much again for sharing your life with us in a little way. Your loyal legion of internet monkeys love you always, as well as your family by your side, and we appreciate your tireless work for the people of our country, the internet community, and all. 🙂
    Best wishes! 🙂

  20. It’s a real shame that you had to be in a big time movie before the family accepted and embraced you as one of their own. It reminds me why I don’t talk with most of my family anymore.
    I’m not wierd or anything (Yeah, that’s what they ALL say, ain’t it? lol…. 😉 But I’m sure you were a great little guy as an early teen, and I think it would have been a pleasure to know you way back then, as it is to know you in a small way now. I’m sure as a young teen guy I would have had a totally massive crush all over you. 🙂
    Anyway, thanks so much again for sharing your life with us in a little way. Your loyal legion of internet monkeys love you always, as well as your family by your side, and we appreciate your tireless work for the people of our country, the internet community, and all. 🙂
    Best wishes! 🙂

  21. Wow… nice story… it makes me think back of all the nice moments I shared with my family… It’s reallt hard to live alone and away from your fsamily… sigh… but I have no choice… i have to work… I know someday my sacrifices would actually paid off…

  22. Wow, we could have been the same kid. It seems everytime I got to do something cool I’d do something to screw it up. I really enjoyed you entry even if it was a recycle.
    BTW, I though CA outlawed fireworks in every part of the state?

  23. Ahhh yes, a classic. One of the first entries I read here at WWdN, too.
    Have a good 4th of July, Wil. My best to the family, and try not to set anything (or anyone) on fire, OK?
    Now, I must go and rock out, for the band that plays the 4th of July party will always rock, and will alwasy consume mass quantities of beer, provided that the singer (me) takes along his own stash of Guinness…

  25. That was some beautiful writing, man. I don’t normally sign your comments-no reflection on the frequency with which I read or you yourself-but that was worth it. Funny and touching all at once. We can’t bring it all back, and yet there are times we realize we don’t have to, and those times are when we see that now is the best place to be.

  27. It’s a real shame that you had to be in a big time movie before the family accepted and embraced you as one of their own. It reminds me why I don’t talk with most of my family anymore.
    I’m not wierd or anything (Yeah, that’s what they ALL say, ain’t it? lol…. 😉 But I’m sure you were a great little guy as an early teen, and I think it would have been a pleasure to know you way back then, as it is to know you in a small way now. I’m sure as a young teen guy I would have had a totally massive crush all over you. 🙂
    Anyway, thanks so much again for sharing your life with us in a little way. Your loyal legion of internet monkeys love you always, as well as your family by your side, and we appreciate your tireless work for the people of our country, the internet community, and all. 🙂
    Best wishes! 🙂

  28. It’s a real shame that you had to be in a big time movie before the family accepted and embraced you as one of their own. It reminds me why I don’t talk with most of my family anymore.
    I’m not wierd or anything (Yeah, that’s what they ALL say, ain’t it? lol…. 😉 But I’m sure you were a great little guy as an early teen, and I think it would have been a pleasure to know you way back then, as it is to know you in a small way now. I’m sure as a young teen guy I would have had a totally massive crush all over you. 🙂
    Anyway, thanks so much again for sharing your life with us in a little way. Your loyal legion of internet monkeys love you always, as well as your family by your side, and we appreciate your tireless work for the people of our country, the internet community, and all. 🙂
    Best wishes! 🙂

  29. It’s a real shame that you had to be in a big time movie before the family accepted and embraced you as one of their own. It reminds me why I don’t talk with most of my family anymore.
    I’m not wierd or anything (Yeah, that’s what they ALL say, ain’t it? lol…. 😉 But I’m sure you were a great little guy as an early teen, and I think it would have been a pleasure to know you way back then, as it is to know you in a small way now. I’m sure as a young teen guy I would have had a totally massive crush all over you. 🙂
    Anyway, thanks so much again for sharing your life with us in a little way. Your loyal legion of internet monkeys love you always, as well as your family by your side, and we appreciate your tireless work for the people of our country, the internet community, and all. 🙂
    Best wishes! 🙂

  30. Great story–I have a similar one where an errant spark from my sparkler landed in the giant box of fireworks, ignited them all. we actually had to crouch down behind trees and under cars to hide from the roman candles and bottle rockets that were going off all over the place. Good times.
    btw, got a notice about JAG being shipped out today. Can’t wait!

  31. I loved that story two years ago, and feel the same way now. Wil, you have an amazing ability to transport your reader to each moment you write about, you truly are a gifted writer. Happy Fourth!

  33. Thank you for sharing, Wil. I think each of us has a similar story, but few of us have the remarkable gift of storytelling you do.
    This story reminded me of my awkward childhood and adolescence, and although I’m sure many of those blunders are long forgotten by most everyone, why do they still sometimes come back and jeer at me, 15+ years later?
    Odd how we judge ourselves harshly and remember things so very vividly when others’ memory seems more selective — a memory that barely remembers the incident, let alone its details?
    I guess there’s still some remnant “geekiness” in all of us. Thankfully, as an adult, I can distance myself [somewhat] from those embarrassing moments and giggle a little sheepishly at the reminders of the stupid things I did/done to me. 🙂
    Happy Fourth of July to all in the U.S. and happy Canada Day to fellow Canadian friends.

  36. “Then I’m going to sit them in lawn chairs and force them to watch me light groundflowers.”
    Parents are so cool in their own way. Me and one of my brothers turned out quite a bit different than the other kids. I’m ashamed to say that we are the “cool” ones. We both get annoyed when our mothers over-react about stupid little things like a pretty ground flower and how they make a huge deal out of someone who stole the comics and coupons from the other newspapers in the box. Then we realize, these are the same women (our fathers are mia) that have worried about those things to make us happy and that gush over a ground flower, not because THEY like it that much, but because they hope we do.

  37. I do remember this entry. It really makes me smile. It made me think of my own period of teenage angst and how petty it all really was. But it shaped the person I am now, and I have to respect that. Great story, Wil! It remains one of my favorites. I hope you and your family have a blast this 4th!

  38. I remember reading this, I could picture it so clearly.
    You know, a lot of your stories would work as part of a TV series. Sort of a 1980’s ‘The Wonder Years’. Hell, I’d watch it, I’m an 80’s kid myself and nostalgia is fun.

  39. Great Story Wil. Reminds me of the time (the late 80’s, so it was around the same year) that someone carelessly lit off like 50 bottlerockets simultaneously and one of them got me right in the chest. Lovely!!!
    Happy Holiday 🙂

  40. Why are there people’s IP addresses showing up in this blog? What is the purpose behind that and why are they there?

  41. It’s to deter those who post ‘nasty’ things. Their post is removed and replaced with their IP.

  42. Wil,
    I was just watching the awesome fireworks display lighting up the night sky over the Washington Monument when a jetliner zipped through the firebursts and into the darkness; my heart skipped a beat–I have a bad feeling about this.
    Did anyone else see this?
    There ain’t no doubt
    I love this land.
    God bless the USA.
    Grace and peace to you and your family. Happy 4th
    Freeman 🙂

  45. Thanks Wil, this makes me feel a lot better. If someone who is “supercool” etc, can be a dork like the rest of us, it actually makes me less ashamed of my own failings.
    Anyway, if anyone in my family ever becomes a child actor I will make sure to treat them exactly the same way I do before they become such.
    🙂
    Oh, and I like the part about “you can get cool things from time to time”. I am also very touched that you are a full father to those boys.
    -ron

Comments are closed.

Related Posts

Recent Posts

Discover more from WIL WHEATON dot NET

Subscribe now to keep reading and get access to the full archive.

Continue reading