By the rockets red glare

     Lying in bed reading a week ago at 9:45 I heard an explosion.  Was it a truck backfiring?  This was followed by additional noises that sounded like fireworks going off.  This would not have been unusual if it was New Year's Eve or the Fourth of July but January 4th?  I remembered that there were fireworks planned for Symphony of Lights this year but even that date had passed.  Did they have some extra fireworks for the end of the Lights this year.  The show seemed to last for 15 minutes with a loud finale.  This may seem like a minor nuisance except if you have dogs.  One of our dogs starts to shake at these noises and the other one starts barking.  Not very relaxing way to spend your time any evening.
      It didn't take long to learn where the fireworks show was.  The next day the Ellicott City Patch had a story about the fireworks being connected to a private birthday party in Farside off of Homewood.  Given that you need to have enough land surrounding your home to have this type of show I image that it would only be possible on some of our 3-5 acre lot homes outside Columbia. I can accept the inconvenience for community celebrations like the Fourth of July or New Year's but private parties for a few family and friends?  I live 6 or 7 miles from the residence that had the fireworks show and was loud enough to hear very well at our house.  Does the enjoyment of a few justify the annoyance of our larger community?   This seems to be a classic example of the clash of individual rights vs. community rights.  Maybe the old saying that your individual rights end at the tip of my nose should have some relevance in this situation.  Something like your right to have a private fireworks show should be far enough away that it doesn't bother my dogs.

P.S.
   Last chance to register for tonight's blog party at Alexandra's Restaurant at Turf Valley.  Just a few spots left.  Great opportunity to talk with bloggers and have some great food.

hocoblogs@@@