Last night I watched the Minneapolis "Red, White, and Boom" 4th of July fireworks display from a bridge filled with dozens of other spectators. This was just an OK event; watching fireworks as an adult doesn't have the same thrill as playing with them as a child. Take the 4th of July when I was 11: we stuffed the engines of a toy plane with bottle rockets to see if this would enable the plane to fly. Of course, the plastic engines simply exploded once everything was lit, but it was great! Maybe I can do that again next year....
I can tell you that as a child I shared you'r enthusiasm although in a different country (israel) as a child everything that can fly or move by itself fascinates you, and the fact that you can cause something to happen without even touching it makes you feel somewhat like those magicians you read about in books.
the main differance is that on books usually the magician makes the magic happen and everyone is living happily ever after, playing with fireworks may have a completely different outcome.
Liran Cohen
http://www.dr-optica.co.il