MONDAY THOUGHTS: POETRY PROMPT---4TH OF JULY BLUES

An opportunity to sing background vocals for Jordin Sparks tonight, on the West Lawn of the Capitol, never materialized. 

I'm not sure what happened. 

I got the tracks to learn last week, and a tentative schedule, but no follow up--not a word.

 

In light of the sudden storm yesterday, and today's weather forecast, I'm wondering if the change of plan was a blessing in disguise. 

It would have been nice to participate in "A Capitol Fourth" again this year, and have a reason to be out of the neighborhood, other than for a desperate search for peace. 

I just looked out of the window. 

A car just drove by with a grill strapped to its roof. 

I've got to get out of DC before I find myself strapped to a bed in a psychiatric ward.
The noise is a bit too much.

I heard, "There's no better place to celebrate the birth of our nation than right here in Washington, DC." That's highly debatable. 

One person's celebration is the source of another person's newly acquired mental disorder, or drinking problem.
Where am I? Afghanistan? 

I heard the first blast of the morning, a little after 9:00 AM. 

The revelers are late today. 

Fact is, folk started celebrating around here sometime in May (thanks to internet fireworks sales, or leftovers from last year, I suppose).

I don't like feeling irritated. I like waking to the sound of birds singing, but I fear they have all packed up their nests and songs and left to seek refuge in Maryland, where their little bird brains won't be damaged by the sound of heavy artillery. 

There's usually a smile on my face in the morning. 

I still have my joy, but I am not exactly happy. 

My right to relative peace and quiet is being infringed upon. 

Can't SOMEBODY, among the Powers That Be, see that this is a HUGE problem? 

Don't get me wrong. I'm all for the visual. 

I'm all for Art, Science, color, and pomp and circumstance. Fireworks displays are spectacular; a veritable feat of physics; awe inspiring eye candy. 

I think they're all of those things and more-- when operated by pyrotechnics professionals...legally...safely...in a big, huge, wide open, cordoned off, secure, far away space...on The Mall. 

When in the hands of intoxicated people in residential and school parking lots, and unsupervised children on sidewalks, however, they're a complete, utter nuisance.

I read a blog comparing gunshots and fireworks written by a Chicago hater of the 4th of July, and wholeheartedly agreed, but the problem addressed was not unique to Illinois. It persists here in DC. 

I wonder what the statistics are here, concerning the volume of 911 calls in the days leading up to, on, and after the 4th of July?
I did just what DC Fire EMS advised, and called 311 last night at 10:33PM. 

I was on hold for about 15 minutes, but the home grown jazz music that was playing did make the wait a little more bearable. The exasperated person on the other end of the line gave me the impression that I hadn't been the first caller of the evening. I was immediately transferred to a 911 dispatcher. 

"We'll send somebody out", she said wearily. 

What do you do? Put on headphones and ignore it? What if someone IS being wounded or murdered? Then, you wake up in the morning and everyone's vehicle looks like it was hit by the Abominable Soot Monster. 

On top of that, the empty containers of what was consumed, as the peace was being disturbed, are left strewn all over the ground.

I like my neighborhood. There are many positives and advantages to living on the SW side of SE, but I officially hate it when 4th of July weekend rolls around. 

Somebody suggested I move, and, well, you know where I think they can go with that thoughtless suggestion. (People make me sick coming up with trite solutions when an issue doesn't affect them, but when a problem does visit them, they want everyone's agreement, undivided attention, immediate action, and support.) 

I realize that there are those who disagree with me on the fireworks issue. 

Going outside to join the noisemakers is not an appealing option, although it would change the impact of the sounds I hear.
In a city with a widely publicized homicide and gun control problem, one would think that anything remotely capable of producing explosive sounds, that penetrate walls and assault your very soul, would be frowned upon. All one needs to do is ride around the city's neighborhoods and conclude that laws are being broken, enforcement is lacking, parents are being careless, and accidents are waiting to happen. 

Unless "explode" has acquired a new definition, it seems that the volume of arrests should be the thing that skyrockets, and fireworks stands should be more vigorously inspected and/or shut down.
I am convinced that fireworks enthusiasts in MY neighborhood are being personally serviced by The Pentagon. 

Surely, they are obtaining surplus weapons once bound for the Middle East. There is nothing festive, or celebratory about incessant, nightly, window-rattling noise in a residential neighborhood.

I am seriously praying for rain--a monsoon--but then that would just prolong the problem. In SE/SW the 4th of July is celebrated, unabated, until about the 4th of September.

(No. NO… this guy is NOT walking down the street with a grill slung over his back.)

Right now, Maryland residents are staking out the choicest cookout spots in Oxon Run Park. Cars with Maryland tags are beginning to fill otherwise empty parking spaces. Sound systems are being set up, and the most ign'ant boy in everybody's party usually has possession of a microphone. 

Maybe someone will decide to put an amphitheater on the property, like WolfTrap or Carter Barron. Right now, it's a free-for-all venue for anyone who wants to come and entertain the neighborhood. 

Some of that entertainment ignores the fact that there are impressionable children within earshot.
I admit I smiled the other day while I was at a Bank of America ATM on South Capitol Street, when I heard the sirens, and saw a car being pulled over near the entrance of Eastover Shopping Center. When will Maryland fireworks seekers ever learn that every  driver in every vehicle at the Southern Avenue Shell station is not there for gasoline and Pringles?

Happy Birthday, America. 

I love you, yes I do, and I pray that you will bless God as He blesses you, but I don't think I like the 4th of July in DC any more.
Maryland, here I come...for today, anyway.

I wrote a song about it. Wanna hear it? Here it goes. Just channel your inner B.B. King...

FOURTH OF JULY BLUES

Just wanted to get some shuteye
Turned off the lights, and climbed in bed
Just wanted to get some shuteye
Turned off the lights, and climbed in bed
Blasts break through the darkness
Sure do hope nobody's dead

Threw off the covers
Should I hit the deck, or bar the door?
Threw off the covers
Should I hit the deck, or bar the door?
Lawd, it's half-past midnight
Guess I won't be sleeping any more

Feeling kind of tired
Thinking to myself, "You know where you live"
Feeling kind of tired
Thinking to myself, "You know where you live"
What made me think this year would be different?
Enough is more than enough.
Somethin's gotta give.

Wooden eyesores on corners
Selling weapons to kids
Explosions and rapid fire
Can't make out what it is
Should I call the Po Po?
Should I just decide
To get the heck out of DC
While I still have a piece of my mind?

I got the blues
The 4th of July in DC blues
Miss the birds singing outside my window
Kinda scared to turn on the news

"Reports of shots fired"
"Child maimed in the park"
"House went up in flames"
"Crowds wandering in the dark"
"Somebody sneaked a gun in"
"Maybe they can save the eye"
"Bodies found in the water"
"Happy 4th of July"

I got the blues
The 4th of July in DC blues
Gonna go find a nice, quiet spot in Maryland
Soon as I can find my shoes
Da DA da-- Da DA da-- Da DA da-- DA
Da DA--Da DAAAAAAA....