Buttface and Crusty had brought a huge cardboard box and it was waiting for me in my front yard. Five feet tall with the top cut open; it resembled a shorter version of a grain bin. Buttface had acquired several things called bottle rockets... that was new to me. The Johnson brothers brought a tall empty pop bottle to guide the rockets. They crawled into the box as if they knew what they were doing. I didn’t fully trust their lack of brain power so I stayed ten feet away just to observe. I kept the garden hose at the ready... just in case!  The first several rockets performed beautifully as they flew way up above about a mile in the dark sky. A stream of rocket fuel lighted up shot the rocket straight up and then a little bomb would explode at the end of its journey. Wow!  I was stunned and very proud of the boys, which was a very unusual experience. Things were going smoothly until I heard Crusty say, “Let me try one.” Things suddenly changed. Crusty in his excitement had unknowingly tilted the rocket bottle at the wrong angle. The last rocket never came out of the box. The box was suddenly glowing red as the rocket began bouncing around in the box. Lots of screaming and the box was bulging from various sides. After maybe a minute, I remembered the garden hose and sprayed it into the inferno. Box fell onto its side and the brothers crawled out and their slightly singed clothes had become black as well as their skin. Rocket fuel can do strange things. Buttface lost his eyebrow and Crusty had a burnt groove on the side of his head where his hair formerly used to grow. Buttface explained, “It could have been worse!”  They both thanked me for the water treatment and went straight home. Left the smoldering box in my front yard. When the firetruck arrived, I had it all under control. The guys asked me what happened and I just said, “You wouldn’t believe it.” Relieved, they shook their heads and slowly drove away. Independence Day was and still is very special.

Nelly