Am I the only one listening to fireworks and hating it?

[Music Lover]

I don't hate fireworks but I've always thought that they were very overrated.

 

[pacergal]

A few off and on all week. Last night from about 6pm-1230am, tons of fireworks going off, plus neighbors out yelling Happy New Year and banging pots/pans up and down the street at midnight.
Our pup doesn't react (In fact on July 4th, he sat out on our deck and watched the neighborhood light up!)
First dog ever to sleep through NY eve fireworks. He was able to sleep before we were

Happy New Year to all of you! May it be a prosperous and joyful one for you.

 

[GenXguy]

I was up about 10 minutes past midnight. I turned off the TV immediately after midnight, but I never heard any fireworks.

 

[EastWest Gal]

Last year we were in Kona, and we knew it was midnight when a crazy amount of fireworks went off. It only lasted about 15 minutes. At home last night, it was rainging, so pretty quiet. Fireworks are legal, but our township ordinance limits where they can be fired off (to prevent building fires). We've had to call the local police when people were firing up illegal type fireworks in the neighborhood in the past. Fortunately, the worst offenders have moved away. I don't mind fireworks shows, but I don't go out of my way to see them anymore.

 

[rembrandt]

Probably depends on where you live. If you can see 1 neighbor far down the road, you are spaced out enough that fireworks aren't that bothersome (still, to pets they will be).

If you can see 5 or more houses out your front window, and on lots less than a half acre, someone else's backyard celebration can sound like downtown Beirut in the 80's...

My cat cried for me around 9 when they started. Not as bad as July 4th which is almost a weeklong thing though.

My dog used to hide under the bed.

 

[CaliKid]

I am not a fan of watching fireworks but I enjoy people enjoying themselves. If it were every night it would get old but a couple times a year no biggie. Happy new year!

 

[jim584672]

I heard a few pops after midnight, not much at all.

 

[Gumby]

We had a thunderstorm last night, so only nature's fireworks. When I was a boy, we went out in the back yard and banged posts and pans together. Not entirely sure why. At the young wife's house, they went out and shot the shotgun.

 

[jollystomper]

We attended a small New Years Eve gathering, and just after midnight we set off legal fireworks (ground fountains) on the hosts lawn. It lasted about 15 minutes. No "booms", mainly hissing/whistling/popping/crackling sounds along with the spark fountains.

 

[Golden Mean]

OP, you are (clearly) not alone here. I dread New Years Eve and July 4th (amateur) fireworks. That said, last night was (blessedly) quiet after 10.

 

[aaronc879]

I heard a few fireworks around 7 or 8pm last night. I went to bed at my usual 10pm and didn't hear any overnight. I had a box fan running 2 feet from my head in bed so that helps. It's too cold for many people to do fireworks this time of year in the upper midwest where I live. The 4th is WAY worse with fireworks going constantly for weeks. I sleep in the basement at that time of year and still get way too little sleep because of the fireworks. They are illegal but no one does anything about it. I hate them with a passion and i'm not even "old" or a pet owner.

 

[Koolau]

Most firew*rks are illegal here in the Islands, but at one time it was estimated that 20 container loads of aerials and other explosives make it here every year. Fortunately (maybe) last night it rained and the valley was a bit less filled with illegal aerials than usual. The problem with the rain is that the bozos with all the firew*rks they couldn't shoot off last night will shoot off a few each night for a while. It's bad enough when they do it at 10PM but there's one bozo who likes to set off one areal bomb (you know what I mean) at 3AM. Just one. One each night for a week or so. There aught to be a law. Wait. There IS a law. SO far, in all of the lead up to Jan 1, I have heard of (wait for it) ONE arrest for illegal firew*rks.

This was Honolulu last night. Not a single one of the displays was legal.

 

[CO-guy]

I personally enjoy watching fireworks, but one of our dogs is extremely reactive to loud noises. Beyond trembling, she vibrates (and drools). It looks like there's an earthquake that is only affecting her. We live in a remote area and the fireworks and gunshots started around 6pm and continued past midnight.

For those thinking only dogs disliking fireworks, an extremely large percentage of our town are former service members, some with PTSD. Easy enough to prepare for July 4th, but when people start having their own fireworks displays at 1am on Monday July 8th, it is emotionally traumatizing for many of these folks.

 

[FindingForward]

I don't mind July 4th and New Year's at all. But I hate that my neighbors set them off at 10/11 at night on Memorial Day - a solemn day of mourning.

Then again, these are the same idiots with ear-blasting illegally tuned cars, muffler-less motorcycles and dirtbikes, so IQ and consideration are non-existent.

 

[Koolau]

Full disclosure. I too like firew*rks but I don't like it when every tom, dick and harry has his own display at all hours and in the neighborhood - and at all hours. We've had wild fires started by firew*rks and there are hundreds of injuries every year as well. Traffic gets snarled on the "Interstate" (Freeway) when people stop on it to watch. Dogs and cats go crazy and get lost. All in all, it's a yearly ritual that I both understand and personally disapprove of. Keep it professional and safe is my motto but I'm overruled each holiday (next is Chinese New Year.)

 

[aja8888]

Typical fireworks shed here in the greater Houston area. Typically, scores of these show up a couple of weeks before the 4th, XMAS, and New Years.

 

[Sunset]

We had some in the neighborhood fire off, pretty quality ones with big arial display. It was a warm Winter night, so folks were able to be out for 30 minutes of backyard fun.

Incredibly, Chicago news told people that they shouldn't fire guns up into the air!
Some folks are so dumb they actually have to be told that?
Besides it being illegal to fire a gun in Chicago, it's a crowded place and the round is going to fall back down

 

[imjustawarrior]

I love them. My dog could care less.

Last night was not too bad. Sometimes I have to wear earplugs to sleep. Last night was pretty mild.

In 2024, the 4th was insane. I don't know how many $1000s or $10,000s was spent by the people around us. We went outside for the free show and hung out with the neighbors.

The fireworks are illegal in Colorado, but we are close to the Wyoming border where they are legal.

 

[marko]

"Little yapping b@$tard suddenly doesn't like loud noises eh?"

 

[jgrdarrash]

Young babies and children, people with PTSD or other mental illness or dementia, in hospice or with other chronic illness who need their sleep. As well as the pets. A normal middle class family should not be able to afford a 25 minute show (like multiple neighbors before July 4, on different nights). They should tax them heavily so we're back to more reasonable amounts.

 

[rembrandt]

 

[Mark1]

This thread reminds me of our friends that invited a bunch of us over for a day of Rummikub and to meet their new liter of puppies. Our friends show dogs and their goal was to have the liter meet at least 100 different people while puppies, experience fireworks, police/firetruck sirens, etc. Basically they wanted the puppies to experience everything that might upset them later in life. I had never consider this approach was used by some individuals to help their puppies in the future. I guess when you're young you don't know you're supposed to be scared (?). Trust me, none of the puppies were scared by any of us. It seemed like a good idea to me.

 

[Music Lover]

This thread reminds me of our friends that invited a bunch of us over for a day of Rummikub and to meet their new liter of puppies. Our friends show dogs and their goal was to have the liter meet at least 100 different people while puppies, experience fireworks, police/firetruck sirens, etc. Basically they wanted the puppies to experience everything that might upset them later in life. I had never consider this approach was used by some individuals to help their puppies in the future. I guess when you're young you don't know you're supposed to be scared (?). Trust me, none of the puppies were scared by any of us. It seemed like a good idea to me.

Back in the day when I had dogs I always introduced them to as many other dogs, cats, and humans as often as possible when they were young. I also trained them to act appropriately and not bark excessively or jump on people.

Friends of ours who are very nice people did the opposite. Their 2 dogs rarely met other animals when young and my friend's wife also thought it was "cruel" to train dogs to not bark, run away, or jump on people.

They now have a pair of 2 year old mixed Yorkies that bark non-stop, jump on people, and run away if they spot an open door. Their barking is so bad that they've been kicked out of vacation rentals due to complaints from neighbors. In effect, they've denied themselves from taking a proper vacation for the next 10 - 12 years.

 

[TheWizard]

We had some in the neighborhood fire off, pretty quality ones with big arial display. It was a warm Winter night, so folks were able to be out for 30 minutes of backyard fun.

Incredibly, Chicago news told people that they shouldn't fire guns up into the air!
Some folks are so dumb they actually have to be told that?
Besides it being illegal to fire a gun in Chicago, it's a crowded place and the round is going to fall back down

There's that big lake off to the East. Aim in that direction...

 

[erkevin]

We had live bands until about 10, fireworks until after 1:30 am, and sporadic gunfire throughout the evening. Not kidding on the gunfire; at least 30-50 mag dumps.