King Daddy Rabbit (Color Birds)

As some of you may know, I have to take a board exam that is supposed to reflect my knowledge of my past 4 years of career training, and I have just read the last sentence that I can possibly stand. Not surprising to many of my loyal readers, there is blood in my Ambien/Nyquil stream. Why? Because I need to get up early, early in the morning, like the late, great Alvin L. Shaw (may God rest his soul) would say. Amen.

Sometime last week, while I was perusing the contents of the aisles of Kroger, I stumbled across something tubular, pink, and made of paper. I thought....no, it couldn't be. But, there it was, in all of it's motherfucking glory--a ground bloom flower! For those of you whom are not familiar with the GBF, it's essentially a souped-up jumping jack. It can't jump into the air as high, because it's a little pudgy--carrying a little extra weight. But shit, you put that thang in an ant pile, and there's a mass casualty, right there. It would just spin and emit sparks for 2-3 minutes. Those were the days.......Kevin Tate Rockets, Planes Flying at Night, Ground Bloom Flowers, and of course.....of course.....King Fucking Daddy Rabbits.

"King Daddy Rabbit" was a term that my younger brother and I stole from the Bible school kids (my Mom coerced us into going to Bible study on Sunday during the summer). We used the word to describe a particular firework that was easily the most versatile and arguably the best of its decade (the mid/late eighties). The Color Bird (King Daddy Rabbit) stood about 3cm tall and was approximately 1cm in diameter. It had a fuse that was not quite as thick as the fuse associated with the M80s, but it was larger than the fuses on most of the other standard firecrackers. The reason that I liked the Color Birds is because they seemed to have a mind of their own. I once lit one under Miss Carolyn (our neighbor's) carport. The Color Bird initially stayed as it was and let out a few gasps of smoke and then, all of a sudden, it rocketed to the roof of the carport before it ricocheted off the roof of the carport and up my pants leg before it (temporarily) went out. I was kind of freaked out......because you know that Nazel L. Guillory, DPsy. (dog psychiatrist) would have said, "Ah, you were doin' somethin' you weren't supposed to be doin', yeah--and God's punishin' you"!!

Well, then the damn thing was not dead after all....it miraculously came back to life and flew all the way across Miss Carolyn's yard, across the circle, into our yard, and it flew onto our roof before finally bursting into a green color and then extinguishing itself. It then fell to the ground, still smouldering. But what passion and determination that KDR had......it definitely had something.

Now I'm stuck with taking those damn boards tomorrow. I have tried reading most of what "other people said" is what's on the test, and I just hope that I'll perform decently. I passed last year, so hopefully won't get any more stupid?........well........... anyway....I think I'm going to keep this post as quasi-sensible as I can. It has to do with Brother Shaw, Nazel (the Dog Psychiatrist), and the fireworks of the 1980s. Unfortunately, I do not have the strength to organize them in to a better story at the moment, so there will have to be a sequel....until next time.....

...I was eight years old and running with a dime in my hand
Into the bus stop to pick up a paper for my old man
I'd sit on his lap in that big old Buick and steer as we drove through town
He'd tousle my hair and say son take a good look around this is your hometown
This is your hometown
This is your hometown
This is your hometown

--"My Hometown"
Bruce Springsteen

I have had the pleasure of having such a great childhood. I know that one doesn't always realize it at the time, but..........people do care about you....sometimes it's just hard to realize.