Boro Park Brooklyn July 4 - 1975 - a photo on Flickriver

Boro Park Brooklyn July 4 - 1975

            Boro Park Brooklyn Stoop Kids going nuts on an Independence Day,  4th of July 1975. Fireworks have been illegal in NYC for well over 12 years now. I remember This is an Anscochrome GAF ASA 500 slide film. I developed it myself with it's 12 step process. It is very grainy but pleasing. ******* Let me tell you about the 4th leading into the 5th of July "1975ish" as well: UXB - Unexploded Bombs. I exaggerate perhaps, but not when you add it up. My friends and I, praying for a dry night, would wake ourselves early every July 5th no matter how exhausted and how hard our ears were still ringing in order to "collect". There were of thousands of them that survived the dangerous after-hours bonfires that every block worth spitting gum on had going. Bensonhurst in particular was again to be avoided by The British as we had our druthers up to run them through again as we'd stick an M-80 where their fish and chips exit. Cars had to take their chances riding over the above mentioned bonfires with gasoline in stock, not stopping at any lights to avoid a quick lesson in chemistry. Ready to be scooped up from our block alone. I remember venturing off to 58th and 62nd street a few times with huge garbage bags returned full of unexploded firecrackers and other devices of major report and pyrotechnical intent. We would spend the better part of the day in the yard at the picnic table, eating and drinking water only when we had to. A snickers bar would fuel me as I gingerly cut every unexploded firecracker either lengthwise or across depending on which method I decided would work best for each brand. I actually remember: Thunderbomb across and Cowboy lengthwise. You may ask this: WHY? Power is the answer. To look at a glass jar full of an Ajax can's worth of silvery hellfire is a young guy's science fair dream. I wanted to blow stuff up. I hope homeland security misses this point as I type, but it was fun to blast a lock off, to splinter a tree knot into a million fragments out onto 3rd floor windows and to catch humans unprepared to hear more than the B train roll by peacefully. KABOOOOM!!! Plates would be dropped, house alarms would trigger and one time a car's side window shattered. (sorry - maybe somebody tried to break in last night? I never could take 100% credit for that one) Anyway Bloomberg be damned, If I never blew 10 fingers and 3 toes off, nobody should have. If you wanted to do it safely, just read the damn instructions: "PLACE ON FLOOR, LIGHT FUSE AND GET AWAY" If it is a dud, don't go back to look - leave it for me the next day on July 5th. - Tony Catalano
   

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Taken on: March 4, 2010

Tags:

Boro

Park

Stoop

Kids

70s

seventies

friends

pals

slides

GAF

ASA500

hanging out

Nineteen Seventies

style

nostalgia « less

Sets appears in: • Brooklyn 1970's

Groups appears in: • Those Good Old Days • New York City Vintage

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