OK, I am spoiled by the awesome Fourth of July fireworks I saw growing up in Rhode Island. Every 3rd of July, my family and I would go to Pawtucket's McCoy Stadium to catch the Pawtucket Red Sox, Boston's AAA affiliate, in action followed…Read More

OK, I am spoiled by the awesome Fourth of July fireworks I saw growing up in Rhode Island. Every 3rd of July, my family and I would go to Pawtucket's McCoy Stadium to catch the Pawtucket Red Sox, Boston's AAA affiliate, in action followed by a big fireworks display. Then on the 4th we would drive down Route 114 and go to Bristol for their awesome display off of the Town Beach complete with live music by the Rhode Island Philharmonic.

After I moved to Idaho in 1992, I saw some fireworks displays in McCall, Idaho. They were and probably still are the most anemic display of pyrotechnics I have ever seen, and we don't waste our time or gas going to McCall to see them on the Fourth of July.

This year, I thought, "when is Idaho going to get it right with great fireworks displays on the Fourth of July?" Well, Melba has answered that question.

After a great concert by the Knights, a local county western band, the fireworks began at about 10:30pm. At first, it was just a regular display, but the celebration organizers surprised us by including pyrotechnic special effects towards the middle of the display. They put the song "Great Balls of Fire" on and then it looked like Hiroshima with huge atom bomb like explosions. I jumped a little bit and thought something terrible had happened, but it was part of the display. Then, a waterfall fireworks display stunned everyone. It looked like Niagara Falls, and everyone applauded.

The music that accompanied the fireworks ranged from Lee Greenwood's "Proud to be an American" to "God Bless America", which is a very emotional song for me at this time of war and patriotism. The announcer asked us to stand up during the display, and most of us did as respect to the soldiers in Iraq.

So if you are in Idaho next year, the Melba Fourth of July Celebration will be held, and you should come on and not miss this great celebration and fireworks!

As mentioned in the overview of this journal, my friend/roommate Leslie bought three marshmallow guns for us to play with while watching the concert and waiting for the fireworks to start at the Melba Fourth of July Celebration. They only cost $4.50 a piece,…Read More

As mentioned in the overview of this journal, my friend/roommate Leslie bought three marshmallow guns for us to play with while watching the concert and waiting for the fireworks to start at the Melba Fourth of July Celebration. They only cost $4.50 a piece, and they were crafted by a local artist by PVC pipes and parts and came complete with miniature marshmallows for ammunition.

My friend Leslie is still a child at heart. She hasn't outgrown her love for toys and fun, and she has made living with her the last 18 months a lot of fun. We have gone to several parades and outdoor concerts armed with bubbles, squirt guns, and other toys and had a ball squirting each other or entertaining children with big bubbles. Leslie and I share the same birthday of April 30, and she says you must celebrate your birthday equal to the amount of days to your age. Let's just say Leslie and I are still celebrating over our ages!

Now, you are probably wondering, "What the heck is marshmallow blowing?!" Well, here is an explanation in layman's terms.

The marshmallow gun looks like a toy gun except you blow out the ammunition instead of pulling a trigger. You load the marshmallow one at a time into the barrel of the gun or the mouthpiece which looks like a gun scope. Then you put your mouth on the mouth piece and blow. It takes a little bit of lung power, but it goes a long way.

Leslie and I were having a ton of fun blowing marshmallows all over the place during the concert. We were shooting over the camoflage netting at the concert venue and hitting unsuspecting people. Then, we switched directions and aimed for the Porta Potties. Then, we shot in another direction where people were wondering where the marshmallow bombardment was coming from.

Leslie and I were having so much fun and laughing so hard, we began coughing and almost inhaled a couple of marshmallows instead of blowing them out. "I didn't inhale, said President Clinton!," I joked. After a while, our shooting got weak, and we rested our mouths and lungs for a while before starting another barrage on unsuspecting people.

If you are wondering if I will be bringing a marshmallow gun to the Guide Get Together in Vancouver in September, I might just be doing so. I just hope that it isn't confiscated at the US/Canada border!