New Years = FIREWORKS!
December 29th, 2008 by RodneyNow that Christmas is behind us, it's time to focus on the upcoming New Year - and that means stocking up on FIREWORKS! Okay, maybe it's mostly a "guy thing" but firecrackers is something that we Baby Boomers grew up with.
Back in the day - on Oahu - we didn't need no stinkin' permit to purchase firecrackers. We just needed someone over 18 years of age. And it was simple then: Baby Camel or Checkerbombs. Oh yeah, and "cracker balls". Do you remember cracker balls? Little colored balls about the size of a small jawbreaker. Came in a square box similar to the box that mosquito punks come in. Cracker balls were made out of what looked like paper mache and had little gray rocks inside them. We'd throw them on the concrete floor hard enough so they'd pop. Sometimes we'd have to give some stubborn ones a few overhand throws to the floor until they'd pop. I always wanted to try shooting them against a wall with a slingshot - but we weren't allowed to have slingshots. I don't know what ever happened to cracker balls. My dad said they looked too much like candy and little kids were getting hurt by biting on them - so they banned them.
I remember on the days leading up to new years eve, we'd have our cigar boxes filled with stripped apart "Camel" firecrackers and our coffee cans with stripped apart Duck checkerbombs. And we'd have some of our older model ships/airplanes/cars all set up with firecrackers taped on them ready for the big day when we could blow them up.
My dad always had to work a full day on new years eve and even though popping firecrackers was allowed after 1:00 PM back then - we weren't allow to light 'em up until my dad got home - which was a 4:20 PM. On that day, we'd be sitting on the side of the street where he got dropped off from his carpool and watch every car come down the street until his carpool driver showed up. As soon as he got out of the car and gave us the green light - we'd be running into the house to grab our stash and light our punks. Since it was still daylight then, we'd always start off light - with the "baby camel" firecrackers - saving the bigger checkerbombs for the dark of the night. We'd burn up the "baby camels"first -kind of like a prelude to blasting off the checkerbombs.
Then it was time to take out the checkerbombs and all the plastic models that we had set up for demolition. Blowing up all those plastic models was the best! Light it, run back and watch all the plastic pieces fly around the yard. Then walk up to it and check out the damage to it. Sometimes it called for another firecracker strategically placed to make sure the whole thing was in ruins. Boy, those were some happy times!
Ever had a firecracker blow up in your hand? Of course you did - it's a part of growing up, right? I remember throwing the checkerbombs into the air trying to time it just right so it'd explode in the air instead of landing on the ground. So I'd light the fuse, hold it for a bit, then throw it as high as I could. Each time I'd try to hold it longer and longer, feeling braver and braver, until - BAM! Right in my hand. A little scared - and with my ear ringing loudly - I'd gently put out the punk, head into the house, and turn on the TV acting as though I was taking a break. Actually, I was waiting for the feeling to return to my fingers and for my ear to stop ringing. As I looked down at my fingers - I notice them all silver from the firecracker powder. I go to the bathroom and quickly wash it all off before anyone notices it and teases me about having a firecracker going off in my hand. Like I said - it's just a part of growing up.
Then as night fell - we'd have the small "throw packs" of firecrackers that we'd be tossing up into the air. None of this single firecracker thing as it was night - time for the "throw packs". And as midnight rolled around, we'd have some of the longer packs to blast on the street. We never did get the long strings with the bomb on the end, but our neighbor always did. And we'd make sure we walked to the end of the street to watch his long string go off and wait for the huge bomb on the end to mark the finale.
Any favorite firecracker stories? I remember one time I was playing firecrackers in the back yard and looking for stuff to blow up. The neighbor's avocado tree had dropped some avocados in our yard that looked pretty tempting. I just had to try it. Stuck my firecracker into the old rotten avocado, lit the fuse, ran back and watched it explode! Whoa! That thing disintegrated! Then I looked up at the bed sheet that our neighbor had hanging on their clothesline - splattered with rotten avocado. Oops. Time to put out the punk and nonchalantly slip into the house, turn on the TV, and act like I'm taking a break. And don't play firecrackers in the back yard for the rest of that new years eve.
What used to be hard to take for us living on Oahu, was the KTA Stores TV commercials that advertised not only firecrackers, but roman candles, bottle rockets, and other aerial fireworks that was illegal on Oahu. We'd hear so many stories of friends who spent the new years eve holiday with relatives on Maui or the Big Island and how much fun they had shooting of the aerials. Ho, those country hicks - they sure had it good.
Come on you FBI (From Big Island) folks - tell us how much fun you guys had playing with the rockets and stuff. Make us Oahu folks all J.
Today's fireworks are weak compared to what we had back then. The paperless firecrackers make about the same amount of noise as the "baby camels" used to. If you want the original Duck Brand checkerbombs, you have to pay the man for a permit - which is a racket IMHO. And have you noticed a lot more illegal aerials nowadays than before time?
Here's my theory on why that is: It's a hassle to fill out the form and pay for the permit to buy the good stuff - I mean the checkerbombs - so people go to the black-market to get them. But then their connection says that besides the boxes of 10,000 and 20,000 - they also have aerials - from penny rockets to mortars to professional grade stuff. So the buyer figures that since he's gone through all the trouble of meeting up with his uncle's sister-in-law's neighbor's nephew - he might as well pick up some aerials too. Now if the city would just get rid of the firecracker permit scam and let people buy firecrackers like they used to, they wouldn't go through all the hassle of going to the black-market route and in turn, wouldn't have the opportunity to purchase aerials. If it's just about the money - then tax the fireworks with stickers the same way that cigarettes are taxed - but make it easy to purchase firecrackers and the aerial black-market will subside. That's my take on it. ** stepping off the soapbox now **
There is one no-permit-required novelty firework that is pretty good. It's the Ground Blooming Flower with Report. These puppies spin and shoot out multi-colored sparks like the others - except this one pops at the end. And because of the size of the Ground Blooming Flower - it's a LOUD pop. But you have to make sure it says "with Report" because the "report" is the pop. Some are just spinners and some will spin then crackle - and you'll have to pick up all the burnt ones after they're done. But the ones with "report" just explode to smithereens so there is no rubbish to pick up. Oh, and did I mention that they are LOUD?
So what are some of your firecracker memories? Were you fortunate enough to play with aerials? Did you do naughty things that got you or almost got you in trouble - like blowing up rotten avocados? Do you still pop firecrackers today to keep the tradition alive? And do you know someone's brother's uncle's next-door-neighbor's ex-wife's kid-sister's niece who can score some illegal stuff from? Share your firecracker stories with us.
My stash.
Tags: aerials, baby camels, bottle rockets, checkerbombs, Cracker balls, Duck brand, Firecrackers, Fireworks, Midlife Crisis, mortars, New Years Eve, penny rockets, roman candles
December 29th, 2008 at 3:22 am
I don't have much of a memory popping fireworks growing up, mostly of those huge, long strands of 20-30,000 (were there really that many ?). We would buy ours from Mexico whenever we are down there but it's illegal now to pop fireworks.
A couple of years ago in California, we bought a bunch of fireworks from a stand on the side of the road. We parked in a mall parking lot with a bunch of others and started setting the fireworks off. I don't think you can do that anymore.
December 29th, 2008 at 3:46 am
Notes on firework (FBI style as you requested). Once in a while in the 70s my family use to fly to Honolulu to celebrate New Years with my mom's family in Waipahu. I don't know what my mom and dad was thinking but they refuse to show up empty handed so they would buy all these fireworks the big duck brand with the bomb at the end, roman candles, bottle rockets, sparklers etc. etc. and pack it all in a big cardboard box originally used to ship anthuriums. This packing box was huge you could fit a human body in it. Anyways we would take the box along as cargo on Hawaiian Airlines. I wonder if the airlines knew people were bringing along fireworks during their flights to neighboring islands, loading up the airplane with big boxes of explosives?
December 29th, 2008 at 6:10 am
Played 'em small keed time but don't recall being too excited over it. I do remember the cherry bombs...they were about the size of cherries, round and red with a thick green fuse. They packed a punch and were good at blowing things up...toads especially. The damage was nasty but that's what the plantation kids did. We also dropped them into the stream if you timed it right and blasted the meidaka (sp?) mosquito fish.
The only time I got hurt was when we were setting off homemade bombs (firecracker powder in roman candle tubes), and a piece of the cardboard tube hit my leg. My uncle had to be taken to emergency one year when a homemade bomb exploded in his hand.
Nowadays, I hate the New Year's fireworks...too much smoke and a fire hazard. Always worried an aerial going set fire to my roof and hope for wind and rain on New Year's eve. It wouldn't bother me if they banned fireworks.
December 29th, 2008 at 6:30 am
What Rodney, you like rockets, I had. BWAHAHAHAHA
That's right yeah, you guys couldn't get aerials. Paper rockets and the infamous 4oz bottle rockets.
Paper rockets was fun. Hold it hand, light fuse and fling into the air to make it go higher.
Roman candles fights. Hold in hand and aim. Careful cause some would blow up if you tied several together to make machine gun.
4OZ bottle rocket. Those bad boys are crazy cause it NEVER goes where you aim them. One I had went up but came straight back down into neighbors garage where they were all drinking and blew up. Yep, bag into the house and wait for the swearing to die down.
I used to buy one package Duck brand for xmas and put it under the tree. On xmas day, open em up and start blasting. Nobody grumble cause we were in plantation camp and everybody was doing it. Of course you see one blue light coming, you ran. And yes, I had my share of NUMB HANDS. Had some fast fuse and even shushu (the ones that only shoot out fire and not go bang)
What memories. Gotta go think of others.
December 29th, 2008 at 7:31 am
Oh Rodney................this one REALLY BRINGS BACK MEMORIES. Back in the early 80's, my friends and I......all attending U.H. waited ALL YEAR for this one night. We'd all pool our money together and buy about $500 worth of fireworks from ? and spend similar on food/beer. This tradition went on for about 10 years and we all started getting married and having families.
Good friend of mine......all DRUNK, would play "baseball" with the Roman Candles. He'd have a stick and another guy would aim it so he could "try" and hit each flaming "ball". I think he only hit a few as you'd never really know when they'd come out of the tube and his reflexes were not the best as they were "Heineken" affected.
Now I cannot comprehend why anyone would WASTE THEIR MONEY ON FIREWORKS.
Once we bought something that cost around $50.....ONE ITEM and saved it for midnight. When we lit it, it was a fountain type thing that only lasted about 20 seconds! We were upset but NO MOA REFUND DAT KINE.
My family lived next to a stream in Kaneohe and I'd always make underwater firecrackers with Scotch tape and blow up tilapias and medakas. We'd also blow up toads but stopped after we "grew up".
My only advice is "Be Safe Everyone".
OL
December 29th, 2008 at 7:34 am
Oh yeah..........one story about those "Ground Blooming Flowers w/Report"........I HATE THEM. They are really LOUD! I think it was last year, we used one of those "ta dais" or whatever you call those galvanized wash buckets. We'd fill them with water and throw those in. BEAUTIFUL underwater twirling with all kinds of colors. But that "report" at the end................it was like an underwater mine and after several of them it BLEW UP THE WASH BUCKET! I couldn't believe it.......constructed of metal and it was ruined! Boy, my aunty's probably wondering WHERE HER WASH BUCKET WENT TO THIS DAY.........
OL
December 29th, 2008 at 7:54 am
MLC, you're mistaken about Maui. Not sure what it's like now, but back then it was mostly sparklers, which were about the only legal fireworks.
Some people would go to Hilo or Honolulu and bring back some firecrackers (in hindsight, not the brightest thing in the world).
In our neighborhood, when I was really young, one kid tried to mix firecrackers and sparklers, and ended up losing an eye and some finger parts, which tempered things there for the rest of my childhood.
December 29th, 2008 at 8:01 am
Dear Pyrotechnician,
Yes, I think fireworks are mainly a guy thing and it made me wonder what things would be like if they hadn't clamped down on the free for all. It's kind of surreal that more people were'nt killed or maimed back then because things were really like a warzone when you think about it. But it was a different time as you described, where you actually waited until your father gave the green light. It was controlled chaos.
As for someone’s brother’s uncle’s next-door-neighbor’s ex-wife’s kid-sister’s niece where we scored illegal stuff from? Back in the day, everyone knew if you knew a certain person who normally wore a nice black uniform during normal business hours, you could get some pretty great stuff. I'm not telling where you can get the goods from today......
December 29th, 2008 at 8:05 am
Good morning everybody
Oh-boy, I get plenty stories
don't know where to start....
Remember having "cracker ball" fights with sling shots, one group on side of the street and another group on da oda side...once we did that we had to clean the neighbors house
had all that burn marks on the wall 
mo worse the house waz white 
My dad used to give us the old sash cords from the windows to use as punks worked really good
Once and awhile when we waz really feeling crazy we used to stick the checker bombs in the dog d*d*
man you really gatta run fast or else 
I can remember when we threw the checker bombs in da air the sparks would fall in our hair every once and awhile
What we been doing lately is buying the cheapest paperless and duct taping them all together and hanging dem from the pole, usually start wit only couple boxes and then for midnight had special one wit about dozen of the biggest taped together
pretty loud and get mean flash at the end 
Ho, sorry so long, but as you notice you hit one of my favorite subjects
still get plenty mo stories....
December 29th, 2008 at 8:07 am
In the past 2 or 3 years, I've been hearing a lot of home made bombs being blown up in our neighborhood. This happens all throughout the year. With in the last month or so, I've been hearing it 2-3 times a week. What I've found out is that these are mostly sparkler bombs.
Ask any 8th grader what a sparkler bomb is and they'll pull it up on youtube for you. It is basically a whole bunch of sparklers (50-100) bundled up tightly in electrical tape and when lit, explodes pretty violently.
Lawmakers need to ban sparklers WITH MAGNESIUM. This is what is used in making those annoying bombs. It is very cheap and anyone can buy them.
If you find that your teenager is buying a whole bunch of sparklers, ask them what they are doing with it. Most likely, they are making bombs. And that is a crime.
Aside from that, I love New Years Eve and 4th of July!
December 29th, 2008 at 8:25 am
I was always the scaredy cat, but I enjoyed watching my cousins play with firecrackers. But yes, I too had firecrackers blow up in my hand. And I got pukas in my clothes from sparks falling on me.
I can't remember if I told this story already, but my Iowa-born sweetie got a shock during his first New Year's in Hawai`i. I was sick on Christmas Eve, and I sent him to Long's to get some cough medicine for me. That was the first day fireworks sales were legal, and everyone else had shopping carts loaded with firecrackers. I warned him that New Year's Eve would be like WWIII, but he still wasn't prepared for all the noise and smoke.
Fireworks are illegal in Seattle, but lots of people still buy them from Native American vendors and play with them in the city limits. I saw first hand at least one fire started by fireworks about 5 years ago. Some kids were throwing them off a third-story balcony and started a fire in some dry brush across the street that also ignited a trash can and part of a building.
OL and NKHEA - I like hear more!
December 29th, 2008 at 8:47 am
I remember the big skyrockets but I wasn't allowed to light it. I wasn't allowed hold the roman candles, I had to stick in the ground but I could light it. The cracker balls I used to line them up in a row, put a 2x4 over it and jump on it. You could buy fireworks before Christmas back then, I used to get fireworks for chirstmas presents.
I used to be in a Chinese Cultural club that does Lion dances and during Chinese New years the club would go to China Town and perform Lion dances for almost every store on Maunakea st. and each store would have a long string of fireworks with cherry bombs. I was in the tail of the Lion dance the Lion would like play with the fireworks and get real close and the store owners would also throw packs of fireworks too while the sting of fireworks would be going off. Some of the string of fireworks would be 2 stories high. I remember the whole street would just be covered up to the curb with red paper near the end of the night. That was so much fun.
December 29th, 2008 at 9:14 am
KAN............we used to get our "good stuff" from several sources. Every time after Thanksgiving "lists" would circulate....usually one page sometimes 2 pages. They basically had the same "stuff" but like other retailers some were cheaper.
The best was our regular supplier. He had a regular legitimate business but come New Year's..............
We'd go to his building in Mapunapuna (I don't wanna reveal names but some MLC'ers may know who I'm talking about) and needed to get BUZZED IN. We'd go into his showroom of "regular products"....but once in the showroom and satisfied that we're "clean".......they'd open up the cabinets and all the ILLEGAL STUFF were displayed! Was just like in the movies!
Another story.....once we had our "pile" of illegals and an errant rocket hit the roof eave and ricocheted INTO THE PILE. One of the drunkards (without thinking) kicked the errant rocket out just before it blew up. We were all shaking and laughing at the same time. We had the mortars, roman candles, and lots of other stuff in the pile not used yet.
The cops would slowly cruise the streets WITH THEIR BLUE LIGHTS ON........if they really wanted to they coulda busted EVERYONE by cruising the streets with their lights "off".
Nowdays got these idiots that use the acetylene filled balloons. THAT IS NUTS.
OL........"whatchu said?"
December 29th, 2008 at 9:36 am
Hypothetically, and allegedly... bottle rockets and mission controls (i think, the big square with like 100 holes and one wick) roman candles, yeah buddy! and gimme some of them mortar rounds that shreik and then BOOM!
i love it all. i love the little tanks that used to run and turn while firing out of their gun, and i love the firecrackers ( kids always took apart the remains next morning, and piled up the gunpowder to do bad stuff with) and i love ground blooms (throw them in a puddle, just right not-too-soon, and they sizzle and dance and throw colors) and no trash can or toy or mailbox was safe for days!
my best best memory is waking up new years day, a fresh start all bright and beautiful, and seeing the sweet sentimental mountains of bright red paper. that always just speaks to me; both the sadness and fleeting part, because they would blow and get washed by rain --- and the red good luck color all over the yard, the signs of a great celebration that brought in a great year.
second best fireworks memory was the year i had 2 3/4 kids: we got to run a booth for 8 days, and it was probably 10 X 20 just packed with all kinds of (legal) fireworks, and then we could step back to our car and open the trunk for sales to the landlord's great-granduncle's third wife's counsin. we grossed about 80K (for the importer wholesaler guy, who picked up cash receipts about 4 times a day, wearing a side arm, and with some spooky armed driver) and we got paid and had our pick of everything that was left. storing fireworks is expensive, illegal, dangerous, and they get old fast.
so we drove home about 11:30 with a LOAD and started setting them off in the yard and road. it was the grandest new years ever, our neighbors and all these kids just lighting anything and everything we ever wanted. the air was thick with smoke (*smells sooooooo good*) and the noise and lights were thrilling.
then we swept up the road and had just stepped inside when a police cruiser went up our street reaaaaal slow. that was a perfect ending!
December 29th, 2008 at 9:37 am
hey UR: that camel picture is gorgeous. i tweaked it a little and have it as my desktop. goes with my color scheme, and where this sits, i look at it all the time.
December 29th, 2008 at 9:48 am
Fireworks.....that is the one time each year when M is actually excited to go shopping and its me pushing the cart while he runs around filling it up. Usually its the other way around. We got our usual stash from Daiei and Costco. I don't like to actually play them, I just like to watch. My son makes these firework shows connecting different stuff together.
I used to sell illegal fireworks until my supplier got busted and stopped bringing it in so I used to have tons of stuff that I didn't have to pay for. I love to watch those high fountains and motar shells go off. These days I cannot bring myself to spend that kind of money for fireworks.....M does enough damage with the legal stuff. I got a call the other day from a friend asking if I wanted to pick anything illegal stuff up, I asked him is there anything under 100 bucks....he said no....so I said I had better not, I rather save the money for our Japan trip.
December 29th, 2008 at 9:57 am
NKHEA, I do that too wit the paperless stuff, tape em together, like a sandwich right? Make em thick. It's loud, fast and a big ball of flames.
December 29th, 2008 at 10:44 am
FBI checking in.
Like Ynaku said, we had rockets and all kinds of other aerial stuff so the firecrackers were kind of boring. We used to use the bottle rockets to play war, but cooled it with the roman candles after one of them blew up. Good thing nobody got hurt bad.
Seems like breaking up the firecracker packs and playing them one by one is a Oahu thing. My Honolulu cousins would come down and take the packs apart
The only time we took the packs apart was to stick them in the toad's mouth. 
We also used to hold the pack firecrackers and let them blow up in your hand. Start with the mini ones and work up to the regular size. It didn't hurt, just was loud and made the hands black. That kinda stopped after I got some major burns from holding onto a pack of jumping jacks by mistake. Was small kind drunk and grabbed the wrong pack.
We used to have big new years eve parties and everyone would bring over long strings of fireworks so we would end up with 12 - 20 of the long strings to blow at midnight.
December 29th, 2008 at 10:46 am
Ynaku,
I remember those "fast fuse' buggas and shushu duds. Is shushu is BI term?
Those 4oz. rockets were dangerous. I think even had 6oz. They were so heavy there was no way it would fly straight up. Those things could take out windows.
We started a fire once with "Jumping Jacks" We would throw them in the air and they would fly. Unfortunately we were playing near an empty lot with lots of dry grass. We out out several small fires but all of a sudden there was a fire we couldn't control. Of course we dug out to my friend's house one street up and heard the fire engine arrive.
I was so happy to get fireworks as Christmas presents back in the day.
Duck brand was the standard. Never messed with the manini Camel brand.
December 29th, 2008 at 10:58 am
Hey CW, BI had some fun when we had aerials.
I dunno if shushu is BI term. Hey Rod, whatchu guy call the duds?
Nothing was safe when we had fireworks. Stick one in a ripe guava and throw like granades. Did the dodo one, same with the toad. Man we were destructos. Give a guy fireworks and he goes crazy.
Day after, rack all the paper and burn in can, secondary explosions. Even roman candles used to come flying out.
Ho, I so excited talking about fireworks, bring me back to keed time.
December 29th, 2008 at 11:02 am
Best fireworks story never happened during New Years. Always had left overs so one night we were drunk and bored, got tired of throwing packs of firecrackers at the mahus on Mamo street, so decided to make one driveby jumping jack display inside the Hilo Lagoon lobby. Lit the fuse, threw the jumping jacks but the bugga went hit the back window and came back inside the car. The whole bag of fireworks caught fire and went off in the car.
Big time BACHI...
I don't know what happened next, but we made it across the street to the Kaikoo mall parking lot. Super plenty smoke was coming out of the car and a couple of cars stopped by to make sure we were okay. Nobody got hurt, but had one big puka in the seat. We got in plenty trouble for that one. I alway knew I'd be able to look back and laugh at it one day, but wasn't funny that night or the next day.
Hope this story don't blow my cover
but was too good to keep to myself.
December 29th, 2008 at 11:10 am
Uku/Ynaku.....spent New Year's Eve on the Big Island a few years ago.......YOU GUYS put the Oahu guys to shame!!!!! This party that we went to.....a guy came over and had a garbage bag of "supplies" along with several empty tubes/stands. He filled up this tube, maybe 4 feet high and 2-2.5 inches across. He made a HOMEMADE FOUNTAIN better than ANYTHING I'VE EVER SEEN! He set it out in the road between two telephone poles and the "fountain" went up as high as the telephone line and must've been about 6-8 feet wide! The thing went on for what seemed FOREVER.
I was awestruck, I was dumbfounded, I was ASHAMED FOR OAHU...........
That buggah, if he pre-made them and SOLD THEM....he could get $50/each EASY.
OL....still remember that "homemade" display
December 29th, 2008 at 11:20 am
We would tape and tie together the duck brand too. It would be more than a foot thick and it would take like 3-4 people to carry it because it was so heavy and long. It was soooo loud and it was just a huge fireball in a matter of seconds.
December 29th, 2008 at 11:23 am
Hey OL, you gotta help pad mine one too as O&E guest blogger
(look who cruising other people's blogs too)
Yeah I hear you ukuhead. No your cover not blown. I never hear that one
We had our share of drive bys. First we used to make all nice nice to the people as we drove by several times. Then we light the fuse and toss em at them. No more nice nice. Good thing nobody recognize the car.
I no do that kine stuff anymore. Promise! I was what? ignorant teenager. Was LOONG time ago. Maybe I dreaming this stuff. WASN'T ME!!!! I saw it on TV, yeah that's it I saw it someplace.
December 29th, 2008 at 12:11 pm
Don't forget about Chinese New Year on January 26.
So we have twice the opportunity to blow our fingers off!
December 29th, 2008 at 1:51 pm
@Tracy - degenerasian! Welcome to Midlife Crisis and thanks for posting this entry in your blog. We'll be sure to do another entry for Chinese New Year - I wasn't sure when it was, but now I know.
And MLCers - when you have a chance, check out Tracy's blog too at degenerasian. I often find some great videos that degenerasian posts on Twitter.
@pauoa - Welcome to MLC too! Thanks for the information on bombs being made with sparklers. Just last night I heard a boom that didn't sound anything like an aerial and thought that it must've been a homemade bomb. Now that you wrote how easy it is to make one, I'm wouldn't be surprised if that was indeed what I heard. Magnesium is the culprit, eh? Any lawmakers reading this?
December 29th, 2008 at 2:32 pm
I knew you FBI folks would have some stories to tell.
@NKHEA - Stick the firecracker in the dog d*d*! Yeah, I guess you'd better run fast and hope the back of your shirt doesn't look like the bed sheet I blew up the rotten avocado next to.
@Ynaku - Paper rockets <- what dat?
@zzzzzz: I thought Maui had a liberal firecracker law too - back in the day. Sounds like it was more strict than Oahu's. Bummer.
@Ocean Lover - Yup, the Big Island arsenal put us Oahu folks to shame.
@Khun Pamela - Yup, not the same as the olden days. Don't know if my reflexes are slower or what but it sure seems like the fuses burn faster nowadays. And the firecrackers seem louder. Cannot be we just getting older, eh?
@KAN - I remember my brother-in-law telling me how the Indian reservations in Washington sold fireworks and allowed you to blast them - as long as it was on Indian reservation land.
@Ynaku/@Ukuhead/@McLovin - Keep the FBI stories coming.
@Coconut Willy - we used to call the shushu ones "shu-shu babies". Sometimes we'd purposely break the firecracker in half, pull out the fuse and reinsert it in the broken section to make it "shu shu". Then someone taught me that if you stomped on it when it was shu-shuing, it'd pop. And it works!
@M - going to tie some paperless together? I buy the triple bomb ones to hang. Not much action until the bombs go off.
@ducksinthewind - you sound like one of the boys the way you describe your memories of playing firecrackers.
@Masako - Funny yeah, how grown men turn into little boys when it comes to buying fireworks.
Where's Opso!
December 29th, 2008 at 2:46 pm
RL, when you tie or tape 3-5 paperless together, not to make it longer in length but to make it thicker, like a sandwich, it pops really loud and faster. It's like how the bomb goes off except it's the whole string doing that.
December 29th, 2008 at 3:24 pm
I LOVE me some fireworks!! Growing up, I'd get tons of packs of Jumping Jacks and Thunder Bombs. Was always special when we got some Duck Brand too. Although expensive, my faves was those artillery shell mortar things. I'd try to get the biggest ones I could find. All these thanks to my friend's friend with "the list". I had a couple friends who'd spend New Year's with their grandparents on the Big Island. They always told me how much better it was over there. Wasn't into making bombs. I had stuff go off in my hand too. Scares you for a minute or two but then back to being young and dumb.
December 29th, 2008 at 3:42 pm
Weird thing about me and fireworks and stuff... I'm scared of them!!! I think I got burned by one when I was really small. I was at a relative's house and a spark must have went right through my sock. I was still pretty small, so I don't recall everything. Ever since then though, I stick to the good ol' sparklers and those thingies that you just throw on the ground that go POP!
December 29th, 2008 at 3:43 pm
Who remember what they call that simulated grenade? Dang, senior moment. It had a waterproof fuse. You better not be around when that guy blows. We used to throw those in the ponds and wait for the fish to float.
Rodney, I meant to say bottle rockets. Sorry, mind thinking one thing but fingers typing another.
We also used to tape firecrackers to the top of those bottle rockets. Poke a small hole in the top and insert the fuse. When the rocket burns to the top. It ignites the fuse and we get small kind aerial display.
How about taking the stick off and taping it to your boat and see how far it pushes it before it pops.
I really miss those bottle rockets.
December 29th, 2008 at 4:53 pm
Ok here's a couple FBI stories.
Brother in law was an artist type from Keaau (Oola). We would setup fireworks at my inlaw's in the hills above Kailua-Kona. He would spend a bunch on fancy colorful stuff and take pictures. I'd buy the aerials. My daughter was young and liked watching that stuff. We would watch the wind and shoot it so that it would land away from brush and the house. One year, my aerial went off sooner than later and came straight down into our box of colorful stuff. Boom, everything thing gone in like 5 minutes.
Few years later, after brother in law left family. Father in law and I did the chores. My aerial went soaring into the next door neighbor's avocado farm. Burned some dry leaves. FIL and I running with 5 gallon buckets of water trying to douse the flame.
Oh, yeah, btw, my FIL is a retired fire captain.
December 29th, 2008 at 5:11 pm
Wow, firecracker days. We would go to my grandma's house, Ewa side, and the men & boys in the family did the real firecrackers, while the women & girls did the sparklers. For some reason, I used to like the smell of both the firecracker and sparkler smoke. And then the next morning we would sweep up all the red paper.
Last time I spent New Year's Eve in Hawaii, about 10 years ago, everything sounded so much louder and the smoke was a lot more intense! Funny it never bothered me when I was small. This is gonna be my first New Year's in Iowa. Hard explaining to people in my town about Hawaii firecrackers! KAN, what a shock that must have been when your sweetie went through his first local New Year's Eve. How much snow you guys get now in Seattle?
December 29th, 2008 at 5:11 pm
I enjoy fireworks whenever I can see them. Neighbor up the street always get "illegals" I don't mind them, but not late at night when we trying to sleep unless it's on the eve. Plus, please no shoot gun in air. Get people in the neighborhood. I know what gunshots sound like.
Let's have safe fun.
December 29th, 2008 at 5:49 pm
@Iowa girl - you can show the people there what the illegal fireworks look like:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QhHgIOXA_KQ&feature=related
btw, doesn't the smell of firecracker smoke take you back to small kid time?
December 29th, 2008 at 8:04 pm
Yo Rod, I found a "Point After" Glass in da tool shed, think it's yours cause you was da only clubber, washed and stashed it for you, come pick it up anytime or for lunch I can drop it off.
Da big blast for me was at "Uncle Wally's" house, I don't think you was even around cause I was like 10 or 11. Had 4 bambucha's tied together and was going to light and throw in the air, but da fuse went jump fast and had numb right hand and ear for da rest of da night :(. But at uncles, we had all kind of fire works including penny rockets and roman candles and all the bambucha's for the night.
Da Arkansas Kid (ur other bro), once walked over a stash with a sparkler, you can guess what happened. Fortunately, everything got blown into the yard and didn't pop, so at least had surviors :).
Now I don't play I just watch and think of the dumb things we did and are still around to see it all. And in case this is your last post..........................>--<
December 29th, 2008 at 8:17 pm
Ehh, how come my post got cut off, WWD !! !. What happend to BananaFysh? He hasn't posted, and I can't use. or rather have a hard time using, BF (reminds me of Boy Friend).
Any how I had wished everyone from MLC, WWD, O&E "A HAPPY AND PROSPEROUS NEW YEAR". Thanks to all of you for helping to make these last 3 months bearable, fun, and meaningful to me, Love You All.
December 29th, 2008 at 9:01 pm
hanaukulele!! u still have old fireworks?! i remember the duck brand was the only one dad use to buy...and those bottle rockets in that old snorkle dad said we had to use because it was safer. yeah safer. wow. i just took a look at all your "toys" section. I remember some of them. especially the spirograph. if I remember correctly didn't u get me and T that one year? where r u hiding all your classic toys? oh yeah. where did u get the rat fink?
December 30th, 2008 at 1:50 am
I can barely remembah when still had aerials on Oahu.
Back then only had Camels and Duck brand.
Duck brand was the gold standard for firecrackers. They were made with rolled paper so when they popped you got little shreds of red paper. Aftah the bomb went off on the big strings you could see a cloud of paper floating down.
But humbug for clean up especially if they get wet. Then they stuck to the ground like a red carpet for weeks. We would wander around the neighborhood the day after and could tell who had the most firecrackers by how red their driveway was.
Nowadays all I see are the cheap kine imported from mainland China. They're made of little cardboard tubes with the ends plugged with clay. When they pop you get little stubs of cardboard. Was easier to sweep up but the stubs went flying everywhere - the garage, the yard, the neighbor's yard, the middle of the street.
Good thing is that had very few duds unlike Duck brand.
I remembah one year we got some Hawk brand firecrackers. Those buggahs were SUPER FAST. A #1000-size pack would be gone in 2 seconds. The #100 throw packs would be gone before it even hit the ground. Never saw them again after that year.
Lots of good memories. Seem so stupid now but was good fun then.
December 30th, 2008 at 2:52 am
Yes I remember New Years in the past when the really good stuff was available. Louder and smokier than today. Really good sky rockets, not bottle rockets. Baby camels when we were younger and checker bombs when we got older. Blowing up our models then burning them more by putting just the powder on them. Sending empty tin cans flying up by putting checker or cherry bombs under them. People in the military could get hold of training aids like grenade simulator (just a flash and loud bang) and artillery simulators (whistle first then flash and bang). Anyone who wants a loud noise maker for future celebrations should check out carbide canons on You Tube. Have safe and fun New Years.
December 30th, 2008 at 8:23 am
Iowa girl, it was total culture shock for him. It was also the first Christmas he'd spent some place warm. It didn't feel like Christmas if he got to walk around in shorts and t-shirt. But he liked all the good food!
Good topic, Rodney. Although you're getting busted by other parts of your family!
Nothing like the smell of gunpowder on New Year's.
December 30th, 2008 at 8:25 am
Oh, BTW, no mo snow in the Seattle lowlands - roads and yards are clear and buses are running again (thank goodness). I've heard there's still snow farther inland and on higher hills. Now we're in for a few wind storms, tonight and Friday. I gotta stock up on spam and corned beef hash (yeah, I know, tough life).
December 30th, 2008 at 9:14 am
Whoa is that your stash from today? That is some really cool vintage stuff.
Duck brand today is not as good. They sell them at pacific fireworks and the bomb on the 20,000 is super small and not as good as before. It's like a cardboard box filled with a small amount of firecrackers. Before it was a double stacked pack of firecrackers that was big. The 5,000 and the 10,000 have big bombs but the firecrackers are not made the same. And they don't have the checkerbomb paper around the outside. It is also wrapped with less paper and have like a cement thing at the ends. It is still the loudest though and the most expensive. "Duck is the loudest, ask anybody." as the sales girl says at the place. Oh and they have some blonde hunnies there, they have the rights to the Duck brand trade name according to my brother. This year I have some aerials-8 shot box, one cake with 16 balls, one pack of small bottle rockets (couldn't resist for nostalgia), these super loud russian single pop pieces, Double Luck from Daiei 5 - 5,000, 4 - 10,000, 1 Duck 20,000 for midnight, 10 - 70K Hawaiian paperless, TNT single Titanium throw packs from 4th of July and last New Year.
Those ground blooming flowers with report used to be good but I got some last year and they were not the super loud kind. The pop like a camel now but before they used to pop like really LOUD. They had some of the really loud kind at the pacific fireworks three years ago for $1 a piece. I still have a stash of those.
December 30th, 2008 at 9:53 am
@RBB - Thanks for finding the Point After glass. Just hold on to it so it doesn't "disappear".
@Uncle Rod's Niece - Remember how your mom used to go to Chinatown and speaking in Chinese, ask for bottle rockets - then get led into the back room where the stash was. As for all those toys - I got those pictures off the 'net. I don't actually own those classic toys.
@gecko - Yup, back in the day, it was Camel and Duck only. I didn't know the newer stuff is cardboard and clay - but now that you mention it, I did notice that those things fly all over the place - unlike the Duck brand that blows up completely. The ones that fly are more dangerous! Bring back Duck brand!
@NaPueo - Thanks for posting to Midlife Crisis! Speaking of tin cans, our mailbox used to take a beating! Sometimes I hear people talk about M-80 and M-100 firecrackers. Must've been before my time because when I look them up on Google, the don't look like anything I ever saw.
@KAN - Take care over there in the great Northwest. Wind storms? What do you folks do when the power goes out and there is no heat? Fireplace? Would sound like fun (for is Hawaii folks), but would probably get old fast, eh?
@guest - whoa! You have a nice stash yourself for new years eve, eh? I wonder about keeping old firecrackers. Doesn't the power become "unstable" (whatever that means) and can go off or something? Or is that only liquid explosives? I'd like to blast them, but scared throw firecrackers already. Those fuses burn super fast. Plus they make too much rubbish and noise. Ho, sound like one old fut already.
December 30th, 2008 at 9:56 am
Rodney, das it the M-80. That's the one had the waterproof fuse. No let that guy blow up in your hand
December 30th, 2008 at 10:52 am
WELL when I was little we used to hear neighbors with canon bamboo..we were not allowed to use it. So my brothers would go over to the neighbors . I remember we use to put small crackers on the ground and when the nuns step on it it would pop and poor nun JUMPS and we laugh! THE only person that would buy fire cracker is my husband and he would let it fire up at the beach while I have heart attack!
http://elfyourself.jibjab.com/view/P5bVbcL46whSk7eX
http://elfyourself.jibjab.com/view/IpErQH24n6MLQAOq#/owner/IpErQH24n6MLQAOq
Gun Cannon Bamboo
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P3socREoOd8&NR=1
Bamboo Canon
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sfZdB3Jp5S4
December 30th, 2008 at 10:55 am
interesting how many pyro's are on the web:
http://www2b.abc.net.au/science/k2/stn/archives/archive103/newposts/2233/topic2233053.shtm
Subject: Gunpowder storage
Why is it that Gunpowder goes 'bad' and becomes useless after a time?.
Not sure about gunpowder, but TNT definately gets unstable over time.
The reason they go 'off' is that the the potassium oxide or sodium oxide found in the gunpowder absorb water from the atmosphere and form hydroxides.
i remember hearing that old caches of dynamite had been "weeping" nitro, and could be set off with a shovel.
December 30th, 2008 at 10:57 am
Ynaku, Oahu uses the term "shushu" or "shu shu babies" for dud firecrackers.
Also, we used to split in half checkerbombs and let some of the powder out and light them and up and the firecracker would spin and fizzle.
On New Year's day we would get up early and look for the firecrackers that were either duds or were not lit, and then we would unroll
all the ones we found and pile the powder into a mound and lay the leftover fuses on the mound. Then the best part came in lighting it. A big flash and a puff of smoke..... was blinded for a few seconds. Sort of had spots in my eyes (maybe das why I wear contacts today!)
Just another kid pyromaniac ................
December 30th, 2008 at 11:15 am
I hear you shoyuburner. We used to do the same things. Every tried putting a small stone on the pile of power and drop a bigger rock on top? If done right, sounds like a B-O-M-B (no like chance being moderated)
December 30th, 2008 at 11:15 am
Powder not power.
Ynaku.........gotta put on glasses.
December 30th, 2008 at 11:20 am
Rosette, Love the one with the dog
TOO funny
December 30th, 2008 at 11:41 am
had to laugh at your Point After glass... too much kolohe then.
in my mid 20s i went to a city where men did NOT outnumber women 10 to 1, and i realized for the first time we had it good.
December 30th, 2008 at 11:54 am
Nice stash, Rod. I appreciate how organized your fireworks are in the bin.
Heh, heh. My girls are too little to play with firecrackers this year, but I think the older one can definitely do sparklers and pop-pops next year. 
December 30th, 2008 at 11:58 am
@ducksinthewind - I was going to say that I don't need the Point After glass because Paula had about a dozen of them.
But I still want it anyway...
btw, do I have to worry about the old firecrackers I have stashed or as long as it's not TNT, I'm okay?
December 30th, 2008 at 1:24 pm
@ Rodney: we don't have a fireplace, and we have electric baseboard heaters. If the power goes out, well . . . I have lots of blankets and wool sweaters. And I can fire up the hibachi once the wind dies down.
December 30th, 2008 at 2:42 pm
rodney - too funny that you have a "stash!" fireworks are such a guy thing... it's kind of interesting! my husband is really "into" his fireworksl! i play a little when i'm at my in-laws but, before i got married, i only played sparklers! i'm usually the picture-taker!
my memories of fireworks include the first time one of my neighbors threw one of those blooming flower things - with report - into the canal in the back of our house! ho man... everything shook and i think my heart stopped! i never did get used to the sound... scared me every time! my other memory also includes those blooming flowers... spinning, spinning on our downward sloping driveway, then shooting off to the right, right towards me!! i had to run away, hide behind the car (it followed me!) then jump up on the rock wall to get away!!
December 30th, 2008 at 2:53 pm
okay, okay......i stay shmall kine late.
good topic Largo!
- only played with duck brand.....no camel brand (baby kine)
- carried around the cigar or mac nut box filled with stash of bottle rockets, firecrackers and punk for the day.
- blow up all da old model cars, planes, tanks, toads....etc
- set up army men and vehicles and throw firecrackers to try and blow them all up. sometimes one of the shushus would melt one of the army men. that was a "10" on da cool factor.
- play demolition crew: find some small hill or embankment where get loose rocks and strategically place firecrackers to make an avalanche. adjust strength charges for stubborn areas.
run when land owner of said hill comes out and sees what's going on.
- make mud cannon: thrust a piece of 3/4"dia x 8 to 12 inch long into the ground of hard compacted soil so the mud sticks to the inside of the pipe. place firecracker in other side, light and watch mud splatter all ova da place.
- make depth charges: wrap a small rock and a duck brand in tin foil all da way up to the tip of the fuse. light the fuse and throw in water. sometimes some fish get concussion.
- play semi rotten orange/tangerine fight: put one firecracker inside the orange, light fuse and throw at opponents. preferably to explode above opponents for the "shower" effect.
- play bottle rocket fight: use da used roman candle as aimer/launcher. stay far enough away so the rocket would explode by your opponents. at da end of da night......your whole arm stay black.
be careful tho.....my friend got hurt playing this game. he fell down a rock embankment.....to much beeas.
- don't want to get into b-o-m-b making.
and yeah.....dem 4 oz. rockets was spooooky. dunno where da buggah going shoot. so cool tho.
December 30th, 2008 at 2:54 pm
whoa.....that was pretty long.
December 30th, 2008 at 5:43 pm
@snow - yup, when it comes to fireworks - the little boy comes out of the man.
@opso - I KNEW you'd have some stories to tell. Demolition crew to create an avalanche - you were destined to be an engineer. Thanks for the stories.
December 30th, 2008 at 6:28 pm
A few years ago my friends brother had a 4 foot length of aluminum (I think) tube, about 1 1/2 in diameter. He would pour in lighter fluid and coat the inside of the tube, light the end with a lighter, and that sucker would be loud like a cannon. He said "no need buy fireworks"
Gotta be Big Island!
December 30th, 2008 at 7:09 pm
nah, everything i found said that explosives are made differently now. not sure about cheep stuff from China (who knows WHAT get inside!) but usually nonstandard fireworks are less powerful.
..saw our neighbor pack bamboo tubes, talk about nerves of steel. i was never around for the displays, though.
December 30th, 2008 at 7:59 pm
my uncle told me one guy was smoking and had fire crackers in one had..half drunk and he lit the firecraker and toss his cigarette ..then the guy stuck the firecracker between his mouth..BOOM...yup....MISSING tooth and jaw!
I SAY to my husband I SAVE MY PENNY AND hit my head then I see fireworks in that case!
January 1st, 2009 at 12:13 am
Happy New Year! What memories- the cracker balls, camel and duck brand, and sparklers. Yep, those shu-shu babies... My friends and I also got our mother's pots and pans, and at midnight... banged away making plenty noise!