Fireworks must be respected. I grew up loving fireworks, and as a young teenager had begun to experiment with saltpeter, sulfur and charcoal. One day my father came home and handed me a book he'd purchased at a surplus store. Pyrotechnics, by Weingart. I remember also he said, "If you're going to do that, maybe this will help." It was like being handed a genie bottle! Of course, at the time I couldn't purchase many of the chemicals, but I learned about the materials, color and spark production, Roman candles and fountains, set pieces, shell making and everything else. Much later I found more literature along the way and joined a fireworks club, the Western Pyrotechnic Association, and went to many of their events where I could learn to make fireworks as well as buy and shoot all kinds under the club's license while at the event, even the larger shells which are not sold to the public. Or just watch all the goings-on from the grandstand. But it wasn't all about big fireworks, it was there that I saw Senko Hanabi, the traditional Japanese sparklers, for the first time. Oh, the fractal beauty of their sparks!

Alcohol and fireworks do NOT mix. Enjoy them responsibly.