Firework Games
When I was a child, me and my bother loved firework games, we had many and we took advantage of any celebration that included firecrackers in order to go to the yard or the street and play firework games.
Of course, those were different times and firework games weren’t considered as dangerous back then as they are now. In those days, we could go alone to school, take public transportation by ourselves, and we said hello to most people because it was the polite thing to do and talking to strangers wasn’t as dangerous as it is now.
In fact, in those times, practices such as spanking were considered completely acceptable means of discipline.
Anyway, one of the firework games we really enjoyed was to play “rocket.” We would buy several fireworks of the kind that fly leaving a trail of color light. We would use a tube to “aim” the rocket. If we didn’t have one, we would just set the “rockets” against a rock in different angles.
Then we selected a target for the rocket to go through. The best ones were circular hoops, like old tires, or big bucket rims. If we couldn’t find any, then we’d pretty much select any object as a target, although it wasn’t as fun.
The objective of the game was to make the rocket go through the hoop. If we weren’t using a hoop, then we’d have to hit a target, like a can or a disposable plastic cup. It wasn’t as easy as it sounds and it took several tries before somebody was able to do it.
That was only one of the many firework games we had. Another one that I really loved was the flying can. For this one, each one of us would set up an explosive firecracker under a can, and then lit it. The person whose can flied higher would win. Of course, a lot of times it was difficult to declare a winner, as all cans flew at the same height. It was no problem for us; we’d just play a rematch over and over. It was just an excuse for us to play firework games.
Another one of the firework games we liked was a variation of the previous one. Except that instead of aiming high, we aimed sideways, and the person whose can traveled the farthest would win.
Finally, the last of the firework games we played was the simplest one. We’d just put an explosive firecracker inside a disposable plastic cup and watch it get blown to pieces. That was all there was to it, but it really cracked us up back then.
Now I realize that some of those firework games were dangerous and they are obviously not good for the environment, but they were great fun when I was a child.
