I would like to share a story with you about a little girl, age 7, who went to see the fireworks in Cumberland with her mom and dad. Since it was the Fourth of July, there was a large crowd of people. Everyone was anxiously awaiting the big moment when the fireworks would begin. Suddenly, there was a loud popping sound. It was some type firework thrown into the crowd. The little girl was standing very near a woman who was suddenly screaming, her hands over her face with blood streaming everywhere. She had been hit in the face with the firecracker.

That little girl is now 73 and still sees that vision when she hears fireworks in the distance. I would not take my own children to see fireworks until the state of Maine ruled the sale of these items illegal. What is the saying? “Those who ignore history are bound to repeat it?”

Joanne Jones
Scarborough