It would seem all of America is awash in mostly illegal fireworks displays.

Why? There appear to be a number of factors at work.

• One idea is that people are spending more time at home, with more opportunity to notice things like big booms and bangs that keep you awake at night and terrify your dog. Cities are quieter in general at the moment, with less traffic noise, which makes some sounds more noticeable and scary.
• Kids have been stuck at home for months unable to attend school or hang out with friends in normal ways, and fireworks are a fun way to pass the time. Were you guilty of playing with fireworks outside of the 4th of July when you were young?
• Just when there’s more potential interest in creating unauthorized fireworks displays, there’s extra inventory for sale due to the cancellation of many July Fourth fireworks shows.

And it’s certainly possible that law enforcement of fireworks rules has become a little less vigorous because there have been bigger issues to handle. It’s a crime mostly committed in the dark hours of the evening, which makes it really hard to find the culprits and prove their guilt.

So many people are calling the City of Bloomington Police reporting loud bangs and pops, the BPD recently addressed the issue on their Facebook Page.

Go ahead and call those non emergency law enforcement numbers if your neighborhood is full of trouble makers. What is the deterrent? A $50 to $500 ticket that is easy to write.

We are running a bunch of white noise items in our bedroom to try and avoid being disturbed. The portable AC unit not only cools our upstairs bedroom, it is loud enough to drown out the rest of the world.

Susan Saunders 6/23/20