fireworks barge catches fire, or, welcome to louisiana

Music: Junior Kimbrough: "Go To Hell" Last night was a spirited evening of grilling, music, conversation . . . and fireworks! The best exploding balls of fire were seen on the sidewalk in front of our house; Shappy made some dynamite burgers, and it was good to see so many merry folk meting measured patriotism (patriotism is a good thing; last night we celebrated the strict separation of church and state, something definitely to be patriotic about).

After days of televised talk about how this year's display of explosions in the sky would be bigger and better than ever, we were only treated to about ten minutes of rather lackluster boom-boom; all of us were disappointed and much more amused by the "snakes" and "Blue Thunder" roman candles that Jim acquired. Photo's of last night can be found in this gallery.

It turns out the Baton Rouge fireworks extravaganza was plagued by typical, Louisiana-style incompetence: the fireworks barge caught fire (Wendy Armington arrived later to report she saw the whole fiasco from the banks of the levee). The write up in theThe Advocate, Baton Rouge's premiere newspaper, is hilarious and demonstrative of the kind of smart thinking typical of the in-charge crowd here:

"July 4 Celebration Sparkles, Shimmers; America Reflects on Iraq War, Issues at Home"

By Nikki G. Bannister and David Jacobs, Advocate Staff Writers

Thousands of Baton Rougeans and others decencded upon downtown for the annual Star Spangled Celebration thoughout the day on Monday, jamming streets, parking lots and the levee.

The celebration included a tour of the USS Kidd Veterans Memorial and Museum [basically, an abandoned WWII warship docked next to a casino], vendor booths, face-painting, music, a World War II re-enactment, hot air balloons, flyovers by the F-15 Eagles and "Fireworks on the Mississippi," sponsored by The Advocate and WBRZ Channel 2.

The fireworks display was shorter than expected.

David Spear, a friend of the sponsors, said a fireworks shell blew up on the deck barge instead of up in the air.

The blowup caused a malfunction in the electrical control-firing system, he said, and a significant amount of the display was lost.

As millions of Americans celebrated the Fourth of July from beaches to backyard barbecues, at concert venues and elsewhere, they also reflected on the most pressing issues facing the country.

"I'm trying to save the ones who can't make it in public schools," said David Matlosz, an adult education teacher and St. Amant resident.

"We need to go back to the basics: reading and basic math."

"We try to be too technical. They can work a computer, but they can't read and write. They'd rather play with a computer than read a book," he said.

Janie Bernal of Baker has a son in the U.S. Air Force and she believes the war is the most serious problem facing the country . . . .

"And Josh Gunn, a three-year resident of the Red Stick, believes that there really must be something in the water supply . . . . " I'd type more of this front page story if I could bear it, adding some cynically smug commentary had I the patience, but I think the gist is clear enough: the newspaper story is homologous to the display, which bespeaks some horrifying and hilarious underlying commonality.