COVID-19 WEEK 18: LET'S EXPLODE THINGS! 4 HORSES DEAD!

PREFACE
Ah yes, the Fourth of July. Celebrating our country's birthday...during a pandemic. All public gatherings cancelled, meaning all the big fireworks displays are cancelled. Meaning what are the people going to do to show their patriotism and salute America's birthday and independence from a ruling country that didn't represent our needs and wants??? Let's blow stuff up!

STORY
The Fourth of July has always been a terrible night for my sister. I've been living with her for 6 years now and even when I was living elsewhere, I would come and keep her company. She has horses. Horses tend to panic or are very stressed by the loud booming and exploding of fireworks. We live in a livestock area. An area that was founded on horse ownership and 1-acre minimum homesteading. As the 'city' encroached on the wide-open land, and the 'city dwellers' moved out of the city and into our spaces, they brought what they were running away from. They think that now that they have all this land, they can do whatever they want. But we have laws out here too. Dogs have to be on leashes. You can't plant things in the swale (the area from the road to where the sidewalk would be if there was one...also called easement). There are established trails for horses, pedestrians, and bicycles. ATVs, Gator carts, and golf carts are not allowed on these trails. Nor are they street legal. But that doesn't stop 'them' from using the trails illegally!

The mayor of our big/little town lost her horse a few years back due to a heart attack during 4th/July fireworks. She has worked hard to minimize who can shoot them off. But this year, due to COVID-19 and cancellations of firework displays, everybody thought they could have their own display! Even the GOVERNOR waived the ban on fireworks for Florida! The signs posted this year were watered down in language so that nobody paid attention to them. NO FIREWORKS WITHIN 1000 FEET OF LIVESTOCK! The fireworks started even before dark (8:30 pm) and didn't stop until 1 AM! Two of our horses were frantic during the booming and crashing and popping. Neighbors shot off illegal fireworks, the kind that go high in the air...we call mortars...and explode with a loud BOOM! All we could do was watch as the two horses ran around the ring, bucking, snorting, and in general distress.  Not to mention the stress it puts on countless dogs, traumatized cats, and PTSD Veterans. 4 horses in our neighborhood died on the night of the 4th of July.

Poor Danny Boy was exhausted by 1 am and he laid down in the ring. My sister checked on him throughout the night to make sure he was still alive. The third horse is over 30 years old and didn't seem to react to it all, but she's always been very steady about it. Maybe she just can't hear it as well. Danny Boy is very young, 13 or so. His heart could have burst from all the stress. This is only the second 4th/July he's gone through down here. He's from Ohio country living. Last year was his first year, but with all the effort of our Mayor, the fireworks were very mild and didn't stress him out. But last year, the people had central places to gather and watch them. They didn't feel it necessary to blow stuff up in their yards.

CONCLUSION
Everyone has rights. The rights of Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness. You have the right to swing your arms if you want to, but when your arm comes in contact with the next person's nose...that's where your rights end. Other people have the right to their rights. Everyone needs to respect the rights of others, even when you have to modify your perception of your rights. We do not live in closed boxes. Or defined spaces. You can draw a property line in the sand, but that does not stop air, wind, smells, voices, or freedom. We ALL need to be better neighbors. Better neighbors in our communities, in our cities, counties, states, and in the World. Everyone is connected, despite lines drawn in the sand. Love One Another.