[Dejibo]

I swear I am coming out of my skin! For the last 5 count them 5 days our richie rich neighbors have been up here sending off fireworks each night. From 7pm to 1am! its AWFUL! My cats are terrified, it sounds like they are right outside our window because it echoes off the lake. I called the cops who told me to hang in there. Fireworks are legal and it will all be over in a day or two. They claim to have millions, and be part of the upper crust richie rich, and they want to give a gift back to their neighbors on the lake by providing a good show for them. Well, first IF you were truly a millionaire you would HIRE someone to PUT ON a show, not light up a redneck drunken firefest that is fired badly and aimed badly off your deck. and it would be ONE night! ONE! We have a fireworks store in this town, and they have emptied the shelves! BOOM BOOM BOOM

The constant level of noise pollution for the last five days has me on my last leg. I feel like I am in a war zone! constant noise, constant banging loud enough to FEEL IT! the hair on my arms is still standing! I feel assaulted. I feel trapped I feel attacked! I cant get the cops to understand that just because its legal doesnt mean its a good idea, and 5 days is ENOUGH! I just saw them with a fully loaded pick up truck headed back down to the end of the street where they live and they are going to have ONE LAST SEND OFF! They have NO idea what we are celebrating.

I asked the son-in-law (the pyro freak) what this weekend was all about. he said "freedom man!" I said "freedom from who?" and he said "the world man!" I said "seriously who are we celebrating freedom from?" He took several guesses and had none even close. I asked if he knew why 50 stars on the flag, he had no idea. I asked why 13 stripes and he said "what does the flag have to do with fireworks?! He even thru in freedom from slavery! Really?! OMG! We live really close to Boston. I asked him if he knew what the Boston Tea Party was all about. He told me they want to ruin the government with a female president. I asked him why we use fireworks to celebrate and he said "cause they are dangerous and we as men need to show how brave we are to handle guns, and fire! back to the cavemen we have impressed our women with our ability to handle fire!" OMG! I asked him if he was on medicine, and he said "no" I said "you should be." He didnt want to know the proper answers. His dad a wounded vet came over and said "look, I fought for YOUR freedom and the freedom to light off fireworks any weekend we choose, so if you are done grilling this young man, can we finish setting up for tonights show?" OMG! OMG OMG!

I am jumpy, I am tired, I am assualted by the visual noise, the actual noise, the percussion from the sonic booms, and the vibrations of the surrounding air, the pollution of the sulfur filled air, and now the sulfur is coating everything around us because as the smoke lands, it coats all the trees, grass, and roads. I would leave this place in a heart beat if I didnt think I was leaving my terrified cats alone here.

Does anyone else get overwhelmed by the smoke, the noise, the smells, the vibration and the idiocy of folks that have ZERO idea what they are doing?

[Kitty]

Maybe you could just explain that, due to your MS, the constant noise is making you sick. Maybe they'd tone it down a bit. Play on their sympathy.....not their intellect as obviously they don't have any of that!

Try not to get yourself all wound up. I know it's hard to do, especially if there is something going on that seems rude and unnecessary. Unfortunately, most folks don't look at their own behavior as being intrusive and obnoxious. They have the attitude that as long as they enjoy it then everyone else must, too.

[mrsD]

I am not sure how much is MS or just aging or something else.

I cannot work on computer to music often anymore. I do play the radio in the car but when fatigued from driving long trips, hours, I turn it off. I find at my age now, I can't stand noises. (I sometimes take music breaks at YouTube, but I can't be typing here when I do that---my posts tend to be technical mostly and I can't think when music is on).

I don't like loud movies, and rarely go anymore to the theaters, as I find them painfully loud. I don't like the fireworks either, and avoid them when possible. I mute almost every commercial on TV now they are so loud too.

I know my blood sugar is not really high, but it seems just the small elevations make me very tired some days.

I seem to have more issues with TV at night, so I don't watch it then at all. I read instead. I love it upNorth, where it is quiet and I sleep so much better. I think it is all pointing to aging, at least in myself.

[Kitty]

I'm more sensitive to noises...especially loud ones. I mute the commercials on TV, too! There is one that I absolutely HATE! It's for a cell phone.....and there is a spider as the picture on the face of the phone....and some woman sitting at the table sees it and starts screaming. Loudly. If I see that commercial coming on I dive for the remote to mute it. For some reason that particular ad just irritates the tar out of me.

I've often wondered if it's aging. Or just the fact that I'm home all the time now without the interruptions of work, the public, noises I can't control, etc. I love the quiet. I find that when my son watches TV - and it's one of those shows with violence, cop cars, screaming, guns shooting, etc. - I just have to leave the room.

Even people talking loudly bothers me. There was a lady in the vet's office last time I was there who was speaking so loudly that the kittens in the adoption cage even hid under their blankets! I wanted to get in there with them! Maybe she was hard of hearing....I don't know. But it was painful!

[mrsD]

Oh, I know that commercial! Gads, it is very disturbing as the setting is a restaurant of all places!

J.G Wentworth screaming ones out the window and the opera ones get the MUTE button too! (It's MY money and I need it NOW)

I watch daytime TV (news) and onDemand during the day, going back and forth to the living room and here to moderate and post.

There is a new drug out there, for helping to control emotional lability, but I don't know how effective it is, and it carries some risks. (cardiac QT), and is horribly expensive.

But some posters have been discussing it on RSD because some pain management places are using it to improve pain control as well. It originally was developed for people with neurological problems in controlling emotions:

http://neurotalk.psychcentral.com/thread152732.html
I'm giving this link because I did quite a bit of research and posting on it for them over there. It occurred to me that some here may be interested too.

And as far as the kitties here are concerned....Oreo thinks it is the end of the world..fireworks or thunder. She totally can't handle them. Weez is unaffected so far and looks at Oreo during these times with total puzzlement. And Oreo normally is a brave stable cat, and Weez is the most timid fraidy cat you'd ever meet! Go figure that one out!

[EddieF]

Sorry Dej wish I was living there cause I love em!

[SallyC]

I'm with Dej and the rest of you. Loud noises drive me right up the wall, along with your kitty cats.BOOM!!

I's my MS, my age and my anxiety.

Put some cotton in your ears!!

[Dejibo]

I have tried to talk to my neighbors and they told me how rude I was to not be accepting of "their gift" to the neighborhood. They went on to explain how not everyone can afford quality fireworks, and they feel like philanthropists by giving such wonderous beauty to the lower class, and lesser able to afford such luxuries. Just like (and I kid you not, he said this) kings and queens of days gone by that would shower the people with gifts, they felt it was their duty to give back to the little folks that surround them. They then indicated that I am one of those peeons that just dont understand classy stuff when I see it.

OMG! I wanted to rip his head off! Then his wife came over (skinny over sunned, leather looking, cigarette puffing, scotch drinking, hiccuping, perfumed foot in her mouth fool) and started to tell me that they kept me in their prayers in and every day because of how much I have suffered, but I need to understand that I am the only one complaining about such generosity and how embarrassed I must be to be looking the gift horse in the mouth! oh no she didnt! I will tell you that I took a peice out of her well tanned backside. I went on to tell her how intrusive, rude, inconsiderate, and ridiculous her whole redneck, white trash family is. She went on to tell me that she cant be white trash because she is a millionaire, and that makes her excentric. I then opened a book of whoop tail on her that I hope she wont soon forget.

I said Look! you may think the rest of us stupid, poor, huddled masses need your displays of wealth and extravagance to get thru our holiday, but let me tell you a thing or two. My husband served to keep freedom free in this country. My son served to keep YOUR freedoms free, and My father gave his entire life to serve this country, and they did this so that we could be free from tryranny, opression, dictators and the like, NOT so that we could blow each others fingers off with fireworks! Please tell your DISBARRED lawyer husband, and your 6x arrested son, with his over perfumed, wife to STOP! You all look ridiculous, and you think yourseves to be on the level of kings and queens?! This is EXACTLY why we celebrate the 4th of July, because we DONT live under the rule of a KING or QUEEN, and IF you were to somehow become the Queen of the USA, I would defect!

I went on with a few more choice words that felt good to sputter, and told her that tonight I WILL be calling the fire marshall, the cops, the sheriff, and the fire department! That if she has half the common sense she claims to have she would know she is about to set some expensive houses on fire, and since the bank is about to FOReCLOSE on HER property she may not care, but I DO care if my home burns. OMg! I just want to spit in her face! Have you ever been that angry? I was shaking when I got home, literally shaking!

We drove to the PD and spoke to the chief of Police who we know, and he said at the first call from us, he will go down and put a stop to the royal activities. Enough! its Monday! go back to your city home, and leave us country yookles alone.

[SallyC]

I'll be glad when things are back to a boring usual day tomorrow. There must be something special up at the Govt Center tonight. Car doors banging, screeching brakes, peeps and their whole fan damilies are parking on our street and blocking our driveways..

I hope some of our ditzy neighbors don't hurt themselves, shootin off rockets tonight. It's been pretty quiet up til now. Survivors will be prosecuted..

[ewizabeth]

I used to wear a headset to listen to music when walking on the nature trail near work. Now I like to listen to the birds, chipmunks and other sounds. It's so peaceful. The only time I like to listen to music is if I'm at a gym, to drown out the machine noises, or in the bathroom getting ready for work, just to wake me up.

I think that our brains sometimes get overloaded with too much clatter happening all at once.

Here is how Rocky celebrated the 4th. He doesn't like fireworks either.