From The “Can’t Fix Stupid” Files

We just celebrated the signing of the DoI and as usual there was fireworks and more fireworks….every idiot with an extra $5 had to set some off for some unknown reason and every year I wait to see how many have done harm to their bodies by being stupid with something this dangerous.

I found the champ of Stupid!

The wife of a man who died after placing a lit firework on top of his head says she thought her husband was ‘showboating’ before realising he’d made a deadly mistake.

Allen Ray McGrew, 41, was celebrating 4 July with his family, and was also toasting his son Hunter’s engagement.

Allen’s wife, Paige McGrew, told The Post and Courier: “Allen loved this holiday. He was a patriot, he was proud of his son and he was excited to have a new daughter-in-law. He was living his best life last night.”

She added that Allen ‘didn’t drink regularly’, and the party was to be his last blow-out before staying off the booze for a while.

Around 10.30pm, Paige noticed her husband – who was wearing a stars and stripes Uncle Sam outfit for the occasion – was ‘holding this firework over his top hat’.

She thought her husband was ‘just showboating before he set it on the ground’ but then realized ‘he had already lit it’ and despite her warnings, the firework erupted.

Following that, Allen then collapsed, according to Dorchester County Sheriff’s department, before he was pronounced dead at the scene at 11.10pm.

Coroners say his cause of death is the result of ‘massive head injuries’ which would’ve killed him immediately.

Paige said of her husband: “He was a genuine, good person and he loved life. He worked hard and he played hard.”

The risks associated with fireworks is a worrying one, with Cal Fire’s Santa Clara Unit, Chelsea Burkett, recently warning residents not to set off fireworks themselves because of the danger they pose – such as starting fires.

She told NBC Bay Area: “It happens every year. We see it often and we strongly encourage residents to let the professionals do the show.”

Meanwhile, Medical director of the Regional Burn Center at Valley Medical Center, Dr Cliff Sheckter, warned illegal fireworks can be even more dangerous.

He said: “These are mortars, small pieces of dynamite. These can and will blow off your fingers and your hands. We see every year.

“Unfortunately, these types of injuries are not reparable in most circumstances and that obviously is life-altering.”

(unilad.com)

Moral of the story….fireworks and booze do not mix well.

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

8 thoughts on “From The “Can’t Fix Stupid” Files

  1. Oh dear lord… Yeah, I read about that last night and I still find it hard to believe.

    I’m surprised at how buying and selling this stuff is even legal. Every spring trailers and tents pop up in empty parking of abandoned stores or even just along the side of the road of people selling this stuff. You’ll see an old, beat up 1970s era 70 ft long mobile home suddenly appear one morning with “fireworks” banners hanging all over it, selling everything from sparklers up to massive “professional” mortars and launchers. I put “professional” in quotes because an actual fireworks professional, someone who does this as a job, wouldn’t touch this stuff with a twenty foot pole because they’re so badly made and downright dangerous they can kill you even if you take safety precautions.

    1. It is only legal down here in the county and is not suppose to be legal to set them off….but I guess the cops have important things to do like donuts or black drivers. chuq

  2. My local news keeps reminding us that it is illegal to set off fireworks any other day than the 4th, New Year’s Eve and New Year’s day – but I hear them every night since the 2nd!! No consideration, especially for the animals and veteran’s with PTSD.

  3. Hard to have much sympathy with someone so obviously stupid. Booze is no excuse, as I have been drunk plenty of times but never once decided to put a firework near my head. I think his wife got it right when she said, ‘showboating’, which we call ‘showing off’ over here.

    Best wishes, Pete.

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