News-Record.com

Someone around here must think it's the Fourth of July, because the normal tranquility of a Sunday evening in my High Point neighborhood was just blown to heck by a first-rate fireworks show.

I can't say for sure, but the colorful explosives appeared to be launched from the vicinity of Wesley Memorial United Methodist Church, a couple of blocks from my house. I was close enough to feel the percussions on my patio.

Since it's not actually the Fourth of July, there must have been another reason for the display. A farewell from afar to Yankee Stadium? A celebration of autumn?

Only problem: It terrified a couple of the elderly widows on my street, who didn't know if we were under attack or what.

Nope. Just the Fourth of July on the eve of fall.

Update, Monday: Police say the fireworks were launched by a private party in the 900 block of Rockford Road, with a permit. A professional pyrotechnics company -- NO KIDDING! -- handled the fireworks.

Rockford is a residential street near the intersection of Chestnut and Westchester. Given the comment below from the person on Burton Avenue, the explosions could be heard a good distance away.

But I don't think the problem was so much the noise itself as the surprise. Nearby residents didn't expect fireworks on a Sunday night in September, and some were frightened. This wasn't neighborly.