Last night (Monday) the explosions began sometime after 8 o’clock, and continued until sometime after midnight.

It felt like we were living in a war zone from perhaps 9:30-11 p.m. with enormous explosions punctuating the night every minute or so.

I could detect at least three different sized explosions and I know they were all illegal with some being far larger than any I have heard before.

Our two dogs were terrified, shaking and refusing to go outside into our backyard. One of them needed to be taken into our bed as he was so distraught.

I wondered about the other dogs in our neighborhood, and my wife thought about the wild birds and other creatures and what might have been their experience.

In closing, Independence Day is a holiday with a huge downside for us, and the fact that it is our experience that a few explosions begin in the days before, and will continue for a few days after July 4th cast a shadow on the joys of early summer.

David and Ellen Sugarman

Crystal Springs