When does celebrating July 4th get excessive? Here’s what our expert says
Q. The newspaper had an article in it right before the Fourth of July which identified the rules about not shooting off fireworks in residential areas and said the police would be enforcing the rules. My husband and I thought that was great. Unfortunately, a lot of our neighbors did not follow the law and there were fireworks with big booms and bursts going off all weekend. Our new little puppy was petrified and shaking like a leaf every evening. None of us got much sleep because single booms went on sometimes until 2 in the morning and the dog would not settle down to sleep. We knew where there were a couple of houses from which the fireworks were coming. My husband thought he should go over to talk to them in a nice way: Neighbor to neighbor.
After midnight one of the evenings, against my wishes, he started walking over in the direction of the fireworks and another neighbor along the way who was standing out in front of his house, stopped him and they discussed the issue. The neighbor told him about how several other neighbors had gone over to the house the night before to politely ask them to stop shooting off fireworks. Apparently, it was not well-received and rather than start a fist-fight, they went back to their homes. My husband decided to come home rather than cause an altercation of any kind.
In a case like this, do you owe the fireworks shooters, who are neighbors you might know, the courtesy of trying to politely ask them to stop (shooting off fireworks) or do you just call the police.
A. When a neighbor chooses to break the law by shooting off fireworks from their home, it is unlikely a polite request from another neighbor will convince them to stop. As in this situation, the first group of neighbors did not have any luck at all and almost got involved in a fist-fight which could have resulted in a lot of injured people. Therefore, the proper action and safest action to be taken is to call the police and allow them to take care of the problem.
Swimming pool question
Q. We just moved to a house that has a swimming pool. Our kids love it! They haven’t had much of a chance to meet kids their own age yet in the neighborhood (not sure there are many), but they have met a few at the church we have been attending. They want to have a pool party on a future Saturday or Sunday afternoon, so they are drafting up a flier type of invitation which they can hand out to invited guests. I think that is a good idea to have everything written down. I told them I want to add a statement or two such as: Note: “Our parents will be home the entire time supervising the party. Their names are “John and Jane Doe” and a phone number for them is_________________. My mother requests you bring your own towel(s)“ All guests will sign a guest book upon arrival with their parents’ names and phone numbers.” My kids feel it is embarrassing to have my Note on the invitation. I think it is quite proper. What is your opinion?
A. I think the flier invitation with all the details is definitely a very good idea and most appropriate. I feel your note information is very wise and quite proper. It will preclude a lot of questions and prevent concern on the part of the parents of your guests, and just in case you need to call a parent, you will have the necessary information readily available. After all, a guest may slip and fall and injure themselves. The injury might not be serious, but a phone call to the parents would be most appropriate. You probably have already done this, but as new owners of a swimming pool, you would be wise to contact your insurance company to make certain you have the proper coverage for guests (of any and all ages) you invite to use your pool.
