Fireworks - Bringing Neighbors Together

I’ve purposefully resisted getting into the legality of fireworks and law enforcement debate as it doesn’t seem to be a rational debate by any definition.  But here we are, about two weeks past July 4th, and fireworks are still going off in our neighborhood.  The odd thing is that it’s not like folks are firing bottle rockets in the evening and having an apparently good time.  No.  Our neighbors across the alley are blowing up M80s and launching huge mortars at 3:30 am.  A few rounds and/or explosions and all is quiet.  The smoke rises over our house and disappears.  Then, within seconds our dog is leaping the barrier at the bottom of the stairs and we get seventy pounds of puppy love in bed.  This started the first week of May and is still going on.  At first we figured it would go away with our national holiday, but it’s still going on.  Not every night, but once, occasionally twice, a week. 

So now our dog is on downers, our sleep patterns are amiss after being abruptly woken up in the middle of the night, and, on some mornings, we find firework remnants in our backyard. 

The unexpected result is that we’ve found ourselves much closer to our neighbors.  We talk more.  Our dogs are scheduling play dates.  The guy with the obnoxiously loud car whom we considered our neighborly arch-nemesis appears to have our backs – and we appreciate it.  We’re watching each other’s cars and the alley.  We are all calling the cops whenever something anything happens.  And, apparently, the police seem to be noticing.  This morning the police were on site within minutes of the first explosion. 

Is our neighborhood an anomaly or is our city still in the warzone we call the 4th of July in Tacoma?