Celebrate Independence Day

'round these parts the fireworks began a couple days ago.
Not the township sponsored displays, but the sporadic, private launchin' of innumerable bottle-rockets, firecrackers, m80's and what-not. It'll reach a crescendo about sunset tomorrow.

The. BEST. when I was 10.

O 'course, here in the Land of Lincoln, that's illegal. To protect the children. Oh you can have yer sparklers, and yer smokebombs. But nothing that goes BOOM! I'm glad to see that for the most part, the law enforcement community turns a blind eye to these infractions. Maybe they have to ... far too many scofflaws. Hmmmm ... there's a thought. Massive disregard for law.

I grew out of firecrackers as I grew older. Now-a-days, when I feel the need for BOOM, I head to the range.

BOOM-shacka-lacka Maximus

Irregardless, all the above is an off-topic rambling preamble to the titled topic "Independence".
Definition from The Random House Dictionary of the English Language (Unabridged Edition) 1967


in•de•pend•ence (in/di/pen/dəns), n. 1. state or quality of being independent. 2. freedom from subjection, or from the influence of others. 3. exemption from external control or support. 4. archaic. a competency.

Interesting that the Wikipedia entry speaks only of the nation/state mode:
Independence is a condition of a nation, country, or state in which its residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory

As I go through the events of the weekend, I'll be mulling over the state of my independence.
I hope you're able to thoughtfully celebrate any independence in your life.