My small town (500 max) can only afford to officially celebrate one holiday, so they chose the 4th of July. You know the big party the hobbits throw for Bilbo in Lord of the Rings? Food, family, friends, Gandalf's fireworks? That's the atmosphere if you go. All the locals will come, set up lawn chairs, picnic blankets or put down the tailgate, buy food from what's essentially a community BBQ, listen to music, play games and eventually settle in for a fireworks display (Featuring unused Christmas fireworks. Plenty of reds and greens.) that brings people in from larger surrounding towns. I get the appeal.

That appeal soured for me to a large degree when I literally had to dig my dog out with a shovel because she wedged herself underneath a raised porch trying to hide and couldn't get out. Another year, she just took off. I didn't see her for a week. We lived three miles from the fireworks at the time. I can't imagine how animals closer reacted.

I have little interest in fireworks shows anymore. I don't know enough people still in my hometown to be able to meet up and catch up with anybody and, honestly, if you've seen one pretty-colored explosion, you've seen them all. It can be sensory overload after a while.