Try to comprehend effects of all burning things

With a carelessly tossed cigarette butt igniting a freeway greenbelt, and Lake Ballinger’s island engulfing Shoreline in acrid smoke due to an IQ-deficient attempt to use a barbecue, my family is also defending itself from neighbors who apparently think it’s OK to let their kids shoot off aerial fireworks.

The fact that the fire danger is the highest in many years, and that all the surrounding properties are covered with very dry conifers hasn’t penetrated their heads. Beyond the very real danger to lives and properties is the sheer lack of respect that this demonstrates for those who are adversely affected by the unexpected noise.

I’m thinking specifically of some of my best friends and family members who are veterans of military combat; a brother-in-law who, as the only survivor of his platoon during the Tet Offensive in Vietnam, is still plagued by nightmares and is forced to relive horrendous memories when subjected to someone else’s “good time;” an ex-roommate who wakes up nearly every night bathed in sweat, shaking and trying to run away from the atrocities he witnessed. Of course, pet owners already know what their animals experience when these would-be explosives experts satisfy themselves at everyone else’s expense.

Finally, to the father of the family next door: fireworks are illegal in Shoreline. What kind of example are you setting as a parent?

David Arntuffus

Shoreline