Mailbag: Finding enjoyment, and meaning, in fireworks

Maybe we should make legal “the rockets’ red glare, the bombs bursting in air” on Independence Day. That thought kept running through my head while watching — no, make that experiencing — Saturday night’s fireworks extravaganza in my neighborhood.

I kept trying to shush my enjoyment of what has become a politically incorrect way to celebrate America’s beginnings. But with each rocket screaming into the air and bursting into hundreds of fiery fragments, with each Roman candle puffing its marshmallow cannonballs into the dark night, and with the children bolting like a scared school of fish after each fuse lighting, I couldn’t help but think that this was an inspiring way to celebrate the birth of the land of the free and the home of the brave.

Being a good citizen, though, I tried recalling the downsides of fireworks: the scaring of surely thousands of dogs and cats; the cost of maybe dozens of roof, tree and car fires caused by errant rockets; and the danger to humans, notably veterans with PTSD.

And I tried to stifle my excitement each time I plugged my ears against the next explosion of gunpowder. Each time I held my breath until an acrid cloud of smoke could drift away. And each time I tore my gaze away from the retina-burning brightness of magnesium.

But none of the stifling worked. I was still exhilarated.

Reflecting on it later, I felt the tug of a slender thread connecting me to the free and the brave back in 1776 and to the discomfort and danger they lived with. The gentle tug reminded me that, as a citizen, I have a duty to face today’s challenges, as they did theirs, knowing that to remain free, I must be brave.

But it’s hard in a cosseted life like ours to feel a tug from 1776. How can it get through to us in the face of prepared foods, microwave ovens, smartphones, 500 TV channels and air conditioning?

So maybe we should welcome into our lives therapeutic doses of discomfort and danger so that we can maintain an edge.

Maybe we should keep alive in our own neighborhoods this annual noisy, smelly, dangerous reminder of the violence the patriots had to provoke and endure in order to rip the colonies away from Britain’s grasp. It just might be good for our country.

Tom Egan

Costa Mesa

Unsung heroes keep our city beaches clean

I would like to heap some deserved praise on the beach crew in Newport Beach.

When I arrived before 6 a.m. at the beach north of Newport Pier on Sunday, the cleanup crew was already hard at work undoing the ravages of the day and night before.

Within an hour, the workers had the parking lot and most of the beach cleaned up. The bulk of the rubbish not in containers was left at the bases of already overflowing receptacles, a definite improvement over done-and-drop behavior of holidays past.

After having my coffee and conversing with a few of the regulars, and seeing that the waves were far too gentle for surfing, I was turning to go and found, to my horror, that I had lost my car key. I quickly retraced my steps, which led me past a city worker named Joe, with whom I am acquainted. I told him that I was looking for my key. He hadn’t seen it.

Then, as I was walking back to my car on the beachfront walk, I called my wife to report my situation. A beach visitor overheard my conversation, thank goodness, and asked if the key I had lost was for a Honda. I replied that indeed it was. He had found it and had given it to another member of the Newport Beach cleanup crew.

I then went back to Joe, who made a quick phone call to his crew, who did have my key. He left to go retrieve it as I left to go feed my parking meter. In about 10 minutes, he returned with my key and saved my dignity.

As a longtime Newport Beach resident and surfer, I have come to know many of the city crew members at the beach. They are unsung heroes in my book. It may not be a glamorous job, but they are hard workers and definitely add to the glamour of the city by keeping our beaches from becoming undesirable eyesores. My heartfelt thanks to Joe and the crew. They rock!

Michael Hope

Newport Beach

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Photo doesn’t represent neighborhood

I don’t have a dog in the fight about undergrounding utility lines because I live in the Costa Mesa section of Newport Heights. But I thought the Daily Pilot’s picture of the property on Santa Ana Avenue in Sunday’s paper was highly prejudicial, favoring the proponents of undergrounding.

The property looked depressed, and to top it off, there was an old rusted-out pickup truck conveniently placed in the photo. There is not another property on Santa Ana Avenue that compares remotely to this photo.

I think you owe undergrounding opponents an apology!

David Martinson

Costa Mesa

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Contest would encourage conservation

Because the drought is so much a concern to all, and because most of us don’t know what to do about losing the lawn, how about a contest — nicely prized and open to all — featuring the best zero-scape designs suitable for the typical Costa Mesa front yard?

Giving the locals a selection of designs that they might adapt to their property would be of great value.

Virginia Hanley

Costa Mesa