My dad lost his job. This is his first week without work.
So, we’re driving, exploring and talking. What’s next?
Dad picked today’s destination: Tupper Lake. The reason? He’d never been there, and was curious.
Tupper Lake is a small community in the Adirondacks, in upstate New York. It’s a somewhat busy, summer tourist town; but on a grey late-November day, it looked rather bleak. The plastics factory shut down here a while back and a steady stream of workers has been leaving town ever since.
We stopped for lunch at The Swiss Kitchen, a narrow diner on Tupper Lake’s main street. Owner Glenda Reandeau has been in the business for eleven years and although she admits the town is facing tough times, she is infinitely positive.
Just like my dad.
Every state has its own laws governing fireworks. In New York for instance, consumer fireworks are illegal.
In Arkansas, children as young as 12 can buy roman candles, skyrockets and firecrackers at certain times of the year.
And in Florida and Georgia, the rule goes, if it flies or explodes, it’s illegal.
That explains why five miles past the South Carolina border in Hardeeville, there are four warehouses stocked with fireworks.
But regardless of where they are, most sellers find ways around the rules. They have waivers. So even if certain fireworks are illegal in their state, they just get the buyer to sign a waiver promising not to discharge the rocket or torpedo within that state. Other waivers suggest the fireworks are for agricultural purposes to scare off birds. Others promise the fireworks are for military displays.
The list goes on. So do the loop holes.
Now let’s go shopping.
