As many of you already know, Hawaii is a very different place then the upper 49 states. Hawaiian history is very violent and a lot of the locals are seemingly crazy. I’ve said before that this place is very much the third world version of America. They have laws against everything! I think it’s mainly because the locals don’t police them selves very well and enjoy getting out of control. This really doesn’t bother me at all, I kind of enjoy it. For New Years here they sale fireworks, but the law says that anything that leaves the ground is illegal. How can we be so close to Japan with millions of amazing aerial fireworks right next door but we can’t have any here in Hawaii? And they are serious about it. $2,000 fine and up to 3 years in jail, for a bottle rocket. Sounds crazy right? That’s not say that you can’t find them because you can but they are all black market fire woks. No loop holes for purchasing illegal stuff with an out of state waiver (like in Idaho) but you can buy the small black cats and other things that go “boom” at the firework stands. Don’t buy that much though, or you have to file and get a permit for purchases over $150.00, and you can only purchase them December 26th to December 31st.
For those of you who don’t know, we were here last year for new years, so this will be our second new years celebration in Hawaii. So what do you think the locals do for aerial fireworks since “whoever” has put these ridiculous firework laws in place?? They all get their guns out and shoot them straight up into the air, like drunken cowboys at Tombstone. Once again, this doesn’t really bother me. I doubt the number of injuries would go up if they legalized aerial fireworks, not to mention we live in a place that averages 160 inches of rainfall a year. You are not going to set the jungle on fire here, if you did manage to start a fire I don’t think it would last long. The point being, what’s worse, people shooting guns in the air because they can’t have roman candles or a few more people losing fingers or getting burns because you lighten up the laws? Either way, new years feels like the wild west because it still is. Aerial fireworks are much more beautiful and slightly easier on the ears then gunfire. I know what a lot of you are thinking, “so what’s Mikey going to do for New Years?”. Well I can tell you right now, with the current price of ammo (especially over here), I will not be discharging any fire arms into the air. I might pick up a fountain or two, but more then likely we will sit at home or over at the neighbors while watching the local sky’s to see just how many people respect these absurd laws (not many). Happy New Years!