Firecracker

When I was a kid, we always bought a lot of firecrackers. I think we used to buy them on the way home from Malolos after All soul’s day.

I think everyone did too since every night you’d hear lots of firecracker bangs and explosions in the surrounding houses days and days before New Years Eve.

I remember Tito Nonoy coming out each night and sitting on the white metal table set in front of Mama’s house. He would have a packet of three stars and five stars, baby rockets and one time, one of those huge baby rockets (I forget what those are called).

So anyway, he’d light his cigarette and toss a few firecrackers around. After a few pops, Carlos, Eric and I (The “Club”) would come out running to participate.

You know we always thought that Tito Nonoy was our own personal Indiana Jones and so time with him whenever he was around ( specially when Christmas came around….he’d come home for a break from one of his explorations), was a very big deal. You never knew what he’d teach us and we hung on his every word when he talked about his adventures.

He was the one who taught us how to light firecrackers. Rule number One…Only when an adult was around to supervise. Rule number Two…use only lit cigarettes and not matches to decrease chances of accidental explosions… and finally, Rule number Three…be brave… you’d better not freeze up and forget to throw the already lit firecracker. (There is always a big chance of that if you’re a kid just learning.

So anyway, it was always a test on Club Courage not to flinch as a firecracker is just about to make your hand explode.

I remember baby rockets were no problem. But at that one time, Tito Nonoy set up the big rocket on a pole and allowed us to light it. Since the thing was about half our size, and we’d never lit one before, we heed and hawed and pushed at each other to be the ones to light it, all the while trying not to show how freaked we were.

I think eventually, one of us lit it and it whizzed past us, and made a pop. It behaved just like a baby rocket except for the pop in the end. Totally anticlimactic but what can you do?

A couple of afternoons though, when Tito Nonoy was not there and we figured the guard was “adult” enough to fulfill Rule number One, we played around with a few firecrackers.

First, a background…

CCP used to have a parol making contest for its students. There was usually a theme, and a prize given to the top three best Parols. That year it was Filipiniana themed, and the Parols were displayed hanging all along the old Administration building.

Anyway, after the Parols were judged, they were sold. Tito Junior bought the third place finisher. A hugely large Parol made of abaca leaves. I think it might have cost him a total of five thousand pesos.

He proudly had it hanged right at the front-most corner of his house right beside where the guard stayed.

Now usually, when we’d light firecrackers in the afternoon, we’d stay in the driveway between Dad’s and Tito Jun’s house. ( Only at night did we gravitate towards the garage in front of Mama’s house…just in case Mama was around and found us playing in the afternoon…she might decide to teach us stuff and studying is not exactly what we want to do on our Christmas break)

So we prepared to fire our firecrackers on the driveway. Carlos had a few Watusis, a few three stars and a couple of baby rockets.

Only, we decided to start with the baby rocket. So we got a tiny rock to prop it on, (as usual) angled it upwards (as usual,) and prepared to fire away.

Carlos lit the wick with a cigarette (also usual of course.) and the baby rocket, well, rocketed away.

The only unusual thing that happened occurred approximately two seconds after the rocket fired.

We watched the rocket go flying, flying, flying…straight as per its usual course…only, there was something there that in days before did not exist…

…and in the days after, also did not exist.

The rocket went straight for the beautiful native Parol.

Seeing that it was made from Abaca leaves, it suddenly blazed into a huge star shaped fireball. The guard just jumped and yanked it down and stomped on it till the fire died out.

Soo much cooler than that stupid pop after the lighting the giant rocket…at least it would have been if we weren’t terrified of Tito Junior coming home.

I was just so very, very glad that I didn’t light it. I’m sure Carlos had another opinion.

I don’t think Tito Jun minded so much. I think he was just glad that it was only the Parol. If the guard wasn’t so quick, it might have caught the house on fire too.

That wasn’t the only stupid thing we did though. This time, I was glad I was just a bystander.

Carlos and Eric were throwing five stars near the gate. Soon after, they progressed to throwing them at the gate.

It was made of metal so it didn’t do any damage.

Anyway, the gate had one of those mailboxes sealed right onto it.

On the sidewalk side, you only see the gate and a small mail slot off to one side of it. From the inside, there was a house-like hollow container with a hinged door to it. It caught the mail and kept it in until someone opened to lid to get them out.

So anyway, the gate soon lost its appeal since it didn’t even cringe at the large firecrackers being thrown at it.

Carlos then had a bright idea…

They’d light the five stars, put it in the mailbox, and close the lid tight (by physically keeping the lid shut). Mainly to hear a satisfyingly large bang I guess.

So they did.

I stood on the side of the gate, near the front yard, and watched them light the five stars and stick it inside the mailbox.

They pushed on the lid with all their might and smiled evilly in anticipation.

I guess the years of cartoon watching suddenly kicked in because suddenly, they both looked at each other and started running.

The firecracker exploded a split second after and I watched Carlos and Eric run down the driveway with the mailbox chasing after them.

I was in shock. It was exactly like in cartoons. It literally chased them down. Ask them if you doubt me.

The thing lost its power somewhere near the middle of the driveway. Carlos and Eric didn’t stop running until they were hear the end of it.

I guess you really shouldn’t antagonize strong and steadfast gates. When they get pissed, they really go all out to get you.

Special warning to the kiddoes who read this blog...

Rule number One stands. Make sure an adult supervises.
Rule number Two is iffy. DO NOT SMOKE. It’s really bad for you. But also, don’t use a lit match or a lighter to light a firecracker find something else. Katol is good…kills mosquitoes too.
Rule number Three. Be Brave…don’t let evil gates let you down.