Fireworks stand worker

Sara Smits

My parents used to be in charge of the Bellevue Swim Club annual fireworks stand fundraiser every summer. Every family had to contribute at least eight hours of work at the stand and of course ours always ended up picking up the slack. As a result of people “buying out” their hours for a hundred dollars, there were always empty shifts we invariably had to fill. Being the head honcho’s daughter pretty much immediately volunteered me for the job.

As you know, Nebraska’s June and July weather can be deliriously hot. When you’re unloading an unventilated trailer full of fireworks that had been in storage, it is unbearable. The storage trailer has been lying in the middle of the blazing heat for hours and turns into an oven you have to walk around in. The temperature in that storage trailer would regularly be upwards of 120 degrees. Once the fireworks were in the storefront trailer, it was only slightly better. Fans can really only do so much when it’s 100 degrees outside. It was like a giant car sitting in the sun with the windows rolled up.

In addition to working the stand during the day, there were times when I stayed on to do overnight watches. Camping out in a trailer isn’t so fun when you’re watching out for people trying to rob you. Not to mention BORING.

All in all, it was a crappy job helping my parents out over the summer. To top it off, I got paid in fireworks–and not the cool kinds either. It was always cheap crackling chickens or smoke bombs or sparklers. Yep, that always made me feel rewarded for my efforts. Not.