I love fireworks. And I'm lucky, I live in the middle of a major street in Los Angeles. Both ends of the street are having fireworks displays this evening. 3 miles North and three miles South of me. I have a prefect view from my balcony and I get to add my own soundtrack.
About 10 minutes ago, there was a knock on my door. It was Mary, the neighbor in the apartment upstairs. She wanted to "apologize beforehand" she said. I asked why and she told me that she was going to start playing music very loudly and wanted to explain why.
Mary's husband had been in Iraq.
He's been back for some months now. They're nice people. Quiet. Friendly.
We tend to have people lighting off illegal fireworks around the area before the holiday. Not too big a deal.
But it has been for Jeff, Mary's husband.
She explained to me that the concussions from the fireworks sound, to Jeff, like mortar concussions. He hasn't been sleeping. So tonight Mary is closing the doors and windows, turning on all the lights and blaring the music in the apartment to drown out the firework concussions.
Mary says that Jeff does pretty well for the most part. But there are things that destroy his equilibrium. Jeff is getting help at the local VA.
So tonight, as I enjoy the fireworks and listen to my ipod, I'm sending out a thought to Jeff and all the others getting their lives back. Thanks for listening.