Some Firework Advice For My Veteran Pals Before The 4th of July

When I was younger, I used to love the shit out of firework shows. I would stand in crowds for hours with my sunburned feet, skinny ass legs, and cowlicks and wait for the grand finale. I would think that like 3 separate occasions during each show was the grand finale. I’d be pumped as shit when it was wasnt. When I was a younger fella, I wanted fireworks to be a year-round thing.

Now that I’m older and life has come at me fast, I’m not a firework guy anymore. As most of you know, I was shot in July of 2007 while in Fallujah, Iraq. Getting shot changed my perspective on a lot of shit. Some veterans still love fireworks and I’m happy as hell that the sounds of war can be separate from sounds of celebration in their brains. For me, that isn’t the case most of the time. Sounds can be a lot like taste where they take you back to a certain place in time. For instance, it’s not just the sounds of firework that remind me of war. Sometimes, for no reason at all, I’ll think helicopters are hovering over my house when the dryer is on. It’s not like, “OH SHIT! THE CHOPPERS ARE HERE! RUN!” It’s more like, “why in the fuck are helicopters hovering over my house when I’m trying to watch golf.”

Reactions and exposures are different for different folks. I certainly dont speak for all veterans when I say things like this either. I just speak for me.

I hate the sounds of fireworks because it startles me. I hate feeling that knot in my stomach for even a second. So, I have learned to adapt. I’ve learned to adapt by wearing headphones that are noise canceling. I know that the 4th of July night is coming so I make sure to have a nice movie and some good quality headphones ready to go. That’s helped a lot.

A small group of veterans are outspoken that we should stop fireworks completely and we see those memes passed around facebook or Instagram right before the 4th every single year. I dont feel that way at all. I think the veteran should adapt instead of all of society. There are certain things you can do to be mindful of your combat veteran neighbors, though. If you know a veteran lives near you and you want to be really kind, knock on their door and tell them what time you are gonna start shooting fireworks. If they are anything like me, it’s the first one out of no where that really gets ya. But, dont feel obligated to do that.

Writing about these topics feels weird because you’re always scared about sounding like a little bitch but I felt really alone being scared of fireworks for a long time. If you’re a veteran reading this and you’ve been nervous about fireworks over the years, don’t be. You aren’t alone. We are like nevernudes. There are literally dozens of us.

Happy 4th, ya sluts.