How Puffy the Cigarette Saved the 4th of July

I spent the 4th of July at the family Beach House in Aptos, CA., where legal fireworks are not allowed. Oh, no. Everyone here goes for the illegal ones, from places like Nevada. Fly up and explode in the sky; the bigger the better. Professional shows have nothing on the 3 hour-plus Seacliff Beach extravaganza. Every five minutes, someone has a grand finale. You just don't know where to turn your head to look.

Vanessa and Robb joined my family for the holiday. Vanessa and I may or may not have purchased a bunch of illegal fireworks in Nevada. And we may or may not have brought them to the Beach House and set them off on the beach. Unfortunately, the lighter we had ceased to work and we could not get the pundts to light. My brother, Chris, offered a solution, and used his cig to light the fireworks. It was quite comical, and one of the funniest things I've seen in a while. I guess Boy Scouts do teach you to be prepared. But thanks to Puffy (as Dad calls Chris), we were able to light the fireworks to properly celebrate the birth of our nation.

Happy Birthday, America.