Author: Robert Lowery

Happy Independence Day!

Enjoy time with family and friends. Enjoy the weather. Enjoy the sunshine. Enjoy your neighbors. Enjoy your town. Enjoy your freedom. Enjoy your day.

Enjoy this haiku:

Springing up from rest,
Flames erupt with excitement,
Presenting a dance.
by Poet on the Piano

Enjoy those we came before and helped build this great nation. Enjoy those who dream, build and protect the future.

Enjoy this poem:

Freedom’s Price

Today we celebrate freedom
thanks to those who came before.
Those brave men who fought and died
in each and every war.
Freedom always comes at a price,
And while we celebrate
We should tip our hats to the heroes
who made our country great.
by Unknown

Enjoy your day. Enjoy your night. Enjoy your celebration.

Enjoy making this a Safe and Fun holiday. Wear eye protection.

OpEd in the Emporia Gazette.

 

1: Wear Eye Protection
2: Adult supervisors
3: One punk or lighter per adult supervisor
4: Read and Follow Safety Information
5: Have a First Aid Kit close by
6: Have a hose or large buckets of water ready
7: Have one or more designated fireworks lighting areas
8: Keep unlit fireworks in a close-able fire resistant container
9: Do not light punks or lighters within 20 feet of unlit fireworks
10: Do not light fireworks within 100 feet of stored fireworks
11: Mount mortar type fireworks to a long board or other stable platform
12: Do not point or toss fireworks at people or populated areas
13: Keep lighting areas free of tripping hazards
14: Relax, but stay alert, and enjoy

Do you have some ways to keep your celebration Safe and Fun? Let us know.

Would you also consider helping us spread the word about eye safety when celebrating with fireworks? Feel free to print these fliers and handouts. SafeandFun Flier 2015 & SafeandFun Handout Take them to your favorite fireworks stand and ask if they will display or include them with a purchase. Remember to get a picture and share it with us.

My son is the young boy in the message on the home page of SafeandFun.org. The experience was very traumatic for him. His attitude and recovery have been beyond expectation. Even the doctors and nurses who have seen him recover over the past year have made comments about how well he has done.

There was a lot of concern about how well the healing process would go. There were even times that it seemed like the situation was taking a turn for the worse. Our son handled it all very well. Sometimes there were things that he would rather do than put in eye drops, but he was often the one to remind us that he needed them.

Here we are a year after the tragedy and his eye has recovered well. We have a lot of doctors, nurses and praying family and friends to thank. He still has some healing to do. If someone or something gets too close to his injured eye, he has an emotional response beyond what most people have. That is understandable. His vision has been nearly restored, but he will likely need corrective surgery to get it back to 20/20.

This year, he has been spreading the message of eye safety for children by visiting local fireworks stands and asking them to post a message to children and adults. (SafeandFun_Flier_2015) He has also been asking them to hand out some reminders to other children. (SafeandFunHandout) Will you help him remind children around the country to protect their eyes this 4th of July?