When an Idaho Radio Guy Carried Fireworks through the White House

I wasn’t quite 14 years old.  It was 1976, and the country was celebrating the bicentennial.  At school, I was a member of a history club.  As members, we raised money all through the school year and paid for a trip to Washington.  It’s very hot and sticky in July!

We rattled there in an old school bus, stopping in Gettysburg on the way.  Our history teacher took us on a walk on the battlefield.  The man knew his stuff.

We Were Country Boys in the Big City

In Washington, we were awed.  Our hometown had two traffic lights, and to this day, a big portion of the population still gets around in buggies (they’re Amish).

Our first few days consisted of visits to the Kennedy Center, the Lincoln Memorial, and the Smithsonian.

The streets were jammed with tourists from all over the world.  Street vendors were hawking all manner of trinkets.  My friend, Andy Moot, and I bought fireworks from a guy with a small stand.  My folks had given me a few dollars for souvenirs, and I chose something that would go boom!  They were stuffed into brown paper bags, and we got back on the bus.

When our teacher told us he had arranged a tour of the White House.  Fearing the crime of a big city, we carried our bags to the gate.  A guard asked to look in our bags, and we were suddenly ashamed.  Then he told us we got ripped off, and allowed us to take our loot on the tour.

That was 49 years ago, and I don’t believe we would get away with taking incendiaries inside today!

We Could be Called Gullible

However, the guard was right.  We bought them because fireworks were illegal in our hometown.  I set them off in the backyard.  Each one rose about three feet into the air, spun around, and sparkled for a few seconds.  Let the buyer beware.

It was almost as disappointing as the time my buddies and I mailed away for x-ray glasses we saw advertised in a comic book.  When they arrived weeks later, to say we had a letdown is an understatement.

But great times to be an American.

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