EDITORIAL: Fourth of July fireworks

We love fireworks.

We love everything about them, from the sparkling, sizzling patterns they make in the dark night sky to the loud booms that can be felt in the breastbone when they explode. We love the patriotic music, the excitement of young children, the feeling in the air that also turns us older folks into little kids again as the Fourth of July aerial shows begin.

Which kind of brings us to David Cassidy, star of that ’70s TV show “The Partridge Family.”

In our continuing effort to occasionally incorporate pop culture references into our daily messages to offset the multisyllabic words like “pyrotechnical extravaganza” that some of us like to throw around, we note that Cassidy is still going strong and visited Seven Feathers in Canyonville recently to put on a show.

One of his most famous hits is called “To be Lovers,” by songwriter Mark Charron. It laments what happens when two things that are supposed to go together are separated, and seems appropriate to the subject at hand.

“Like a summer wind in the fall/like a color book without a paper doll,” the former teen idol croons. And later, “... like a mockingbird with no song/imagine the sun sleeping through the dawn ... .”

That’s sort of how things felt around Roseburg last year. The annual fireworks show that caps off the Fourth of July holiday did not take place after the Roseburg Jaycees — which had put on a wonderful show for many years — decided it no longer had the manpower or resources to continue.

Like the song says, it was like a drift of snow falling in June. Like a November night without an autumn moon.

Well, cheer up, folks. There’s a livelier tune being played during the run-up to our nation’s birthday this year.

The Hometown Fourth of July Committee has been formed in Roseburg to stage a celebration in Stewart Park that won’t soon be forgotten. Organizers want to include food vendor booths and music, maybe even a flyover of military jets.

If it can raise $25,000, the committee wants to put on a 35-minute fireworks show in the sky above the city that will make our hearts burst with fervor and pride. If that isn’t possible, organizers report that for $15,000, they can mount a smaller aerial show that will still put the sizzle back in the city’s step.

They have a good start. The city is seeding the effort with the first $5,000.

You are being asked to help as well. Donations of any size may be dropped off or mailed to the City Manager’s Office at City Hall, 900 S.E. Douglas Ave. Donations also may be made at Umpqua Bank, 445 S.E. Main St. Checks should be made out to “Hometown Fourth of July,” and they are tax-deductible.

So it’s time to see if the city wants its fireworks show back. Let’s all help with a fundraising campaign that gives the song back to the mockingbird, places the summer wind back in the summer, puts the sparkle and sizzle back in Roseburg’s Fourth of July.

Because we love fireworks. The holiday just doesn’t seem the same without ’em.