Did you have a pleasant Independence Day weekend? The three days seemed to fly by quickly. The weather was ideal for anything you wanted to do, and there was no shortage of things to do.

The fireworks display in Le Mars was once again wonderful. The weather even cooperated with cooler temperatures and a slight breeze to aid in keeping the insects at bay.

Before and after the public fireworks display, numerous amateur displays of pyrotechnics were put on in the vicinity of the fairgrounds. This added to the festive atmosphere and helped pass the time from dusk until the display began. For amateurs, some of these displays were pretty good.

Of course, all of them were against the law. But if law enforcement were forced to prosecute anyone and everyone who set off illegal fireworks, I seriously doubt they would accomplish much for the last week of June and the first few days of July.

If they did, it might be a good time for a bank job...KIDDING!

There's something very primal in males, especially young males, about fireworks. From the age we overcome our fear of the explosions, the fascination begins, peaking for some after reaching adulthood. This assumes that adulthood is a moving target, different for everyone and something that some never quite reach.

I can recall my older brothers getting bottle rockets and Black Cat firecrackers, cherry bombs and the "Holy Grail" of pre-adolescent explosive frenzy -- the M-80. We would set them off in our own back yard, even going as far as re-enacting battles in the sandbox. Many a valiant green plastic army man gave his life for our amusement.

We were loosely supervised by my father, who wanted little more than to be left alone. We were in his back yard, so we found a way to coexist. We used lit punks to set off our explosions. When the punks ran out before we had used up all of our illicit fireworks and the gunpowder lust remained strong, we turned to the Chief for his assistance in obtaining fire.

The Chief enjoyed smoking a cigar in those days, telling us that it kept the mosquitoes at bay. He offered the cigar to my brother John and me to use to light firecrackers. The trick was to keep the cigar glowing.

After taking a trial puff, I quickly realized that it wasn't for me and turned the stogie over to John, who was three years older than me. He was able to keep things going and we set off many more small explosions before we finally became bored and quit.

This was over 35 years ago. Fireworks were still illegal and we did little more than destroy some of our own toys and damage our hearing, which at that age we thought was impervious to harm. I believe that fireworks are dangerous, but there's nothing wrong with a little supervised and controlled destruction.

Earlier this week, I saw an item come across the wire that hammered home to me how much times have changed. The Daily Nonpareil reports that a Council Bluffs man has been charged with child endangerment after he allegedly let his son light fireworks with a cigarette.

According to police, an officer saw an 8-year-old boy lighting fireworks in an alley Saturday night. He noticed the child was using a cigarette.

Police say the boy's father, Lewis Coleman, told the officer he gave his son the cigarette because he couldn't get a lighter to work and didn't have a punk, a special wick for lighting fireworks.

Coleman was arrested for child endangerment, because his child was left unsupervised with a lit cigarette and fireworks, and possession of fireworks. Coleman was taken to the Pottawattamie County jail and released later Saturday when he posted $2,000 bond. It wasn't clear whether he has hired an attorney.

The child was released to his mother.

Hmmm...I guess I was fortunate I grew up during the 1960s and 70s. At least I was supervised when I used illegal fireworks. Insert your own observation here.

As always, I welcome your comments. You can reach me by email at tstangl@lemarscomm.net, telephone 712-546-7031, x40 or toll free 1-800-728-0066 x40.

Thanks for reading, I'll keep in touch. Feel free to do the same.