Tourism Taskforce

[AquaMan]

Are you referring to fireworks displays at Drillers Stadium?

[guido911]

what

You didn't know about the bombs? Sheesh, get your head out of the sand. 

[Truman]

So that everything is "mis en plas" and to add another variable to this, lets add
zip code of the residence of the respondents.

I'll start 74103

Maybe the word bomb is a bit extreme. Lets use just the sound as being somewhat similar to a mortar blast.

[Red Arrow]

If you are in a business DT enjoying a $100.+ dinner nothing like shell shock and the sound of explosions to cap off the evening.

I have a squeaky wallet.  I would have a difficult time enjoying a $100. (or plus) dinner in any environment.

[Hoss]

So that everything is "mis en plas" and to add another variable to this, lets add
zip code of the residence of the respondents.

I'll start 74103

Maybe the word bomb is a bit extreme. Lets use just the sound as being somewhat similar to a mortar blast.

That would be called the Drillers Friday Fireworks.  They've been doing this all season now.

[RecycleMichael]

I have a squeaky wallet.  I would have a difficult time enjoying a $100. (or plus) dinner in any environment.

+1

[nathanm]

I have a squeaky wallet.  I would have a difficult time enjoying a $100. (or plus) dinner in any environment.

It's OK when it's OPM.

[AquaMan]

So that everything is "mis en plas" and to add another variable to this, lets add
zip code of the residence of the respondents.

I'll start 74103

Maybe the word bomb is a bit extreme. Lets use just the sound as being somewhat similar to a mortar blast.

I am nearby in 74119 and it is no distraction at all. Our big booms are concrete trucks and refinery processes. All part of the life of a city.

[we vs us]

I am nearby in 74119 and it is no distraction at all. Our big booms are concrete trucks and refinery processes. All part of the life of a city.

Agreed.  I'm still not sure what Truman's referring to, but if it's fireworks over Driller's Stadium, then I say bring 'em on.  Fireworks = tourist and resident draw ("Hey!  what's happening over at the baseball stadium?  Fireworks? Awesome!"). Train whistles = TOTAL buzzkill ("It's 3 oclock in the morning, the whistles are going off every 30 minutes, and I have to be in front of a board meeting at 8am. I freakin' hate downtown Tulsa.")

Some big noises are good big noises.  Other big noises are bad big noises.  It's all about context.

[RecycleMichael]

Dear Truman:

There will be fireworks tonight. Don't be scared.

[Truman]

That makes things so much better. If I could only remember your baseball schedule.







Fireworks trigger stress in war vets
For those with PTSD, festivities are the sounds and smells of combat

By Andy Grimm, Tribune reporter

July 2, 2011


The random pop-pop-pop of firecrackers will reach its seasonal peak with Monday's Fourth of July celebrations, but this most patriotic — and pyrotechnic — holiday can drive many combat veterans away from parade routes and picnics.

Rather than hang around the house for barbecues with friends, some veterans who suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder seek out quiet places away from fireworks, which can set off flashbacks, anxiety and hyperawareness.

"If you are lighting off a firecracker in your neighborhood, there's a very good chance that there is a veteran within earshot," said Dr. John Mundt, a psychologist at Jesse Brown VA Medical Center in Chicago, whose PTSD support groups have devoted several sessions in the last few weeks to coping with the July Fourth fireworks barrage.

"To someone with PSTD, it can sound like small arms fire."

An estimated 11 to 20 percent of Iraq and Afghanistan war vets and nearly a third of Vietnam vets suffer symptoms of PTSD — a figure that means if you light off an M-80 in an urban area like Chicago, there's likely a veteran nearby.

The random, small explosions of bottle rockets and firecrackers pose more of a threat to veterans' peace of mind than a massive municipal fireworks display, Mundt said. When vets can anticipate when and where the noise will come from, and they're in the firework-watching state of mind, they can enjoy a display like the ones at Navy Pier.

But lighting a string of Black Cats at random intervals or shooting off bottle rockets in the middle of the night can trigger in veterans the hyperalertness and adrenaline rush of combat. That conditioned response can set a PTSD sufferer on edge for hours, or trigger memories that lead to depression that will last well past the holidays, Mundt said.

Former Navy Seabee John E. Baker spent parts of two years in Iraq manning a mortar, launching shells and ducking small arms fire from insurgents. For weeks Baker's South Side neighborhood has been filled with festive explosions, and the crackle of a string of firecrackers outside his apartment sets off the same reflexive adrenaline surge as the enemy fire he faced some six years ago.

"You figure out what it is real quick, but you get the tingling, my heart starts racing fast," said Baker, 30. "It might just be for three seconds but it feels like 10 minutes. It can take you away, and you're not there anymore."

Jol Gerardot, a National Guardsman, lives in Crown Point, Ind., where fireworks laws are more liberal than in Illinois. He even enjoys launching fireworks himself, the bigger the better. But when he's sound asleep, a late night volley of firecrackers sends him shooting out of bed..

"I'll be running to the window, looking for my rifle until I realize where I am," said Gerardot, who is still in the Guard after tours in Iraq and Afghanistan. "You don't go back to sleep for hours after that."

Christopher Packley, a 28-year-old former Marine from Morris, said even the smell of gunpowder can trigger powerful memories of his time as a sniper in Iraq during the siege of Fallujah more than seven years ago.

"Fireworks kind of smell like C-4 (a powerful explosive). Bottle rockets sort of sound like an RPG (rocket-propelled grenade)," Packley said.

"I know the difference between fireworks and the real thing, but that doesn't stop the reactions."

Packley acknowledges the sort of people who launch fireworks at all hours aren't considerate enough to worry about annoying their neighbors, much less tormenting nearby veterans. But, he hopes, perhaps an appeal to patriotism on the Fourth of July will give some people a reason to knock off their impromptu displays.

"In most neighborhoods, you know if there's a veteran that lives by you," he said. "I would hope people would think of that before they shoot something off in the middle of the night."

[Hoss]

That makes things so much better. If I could only remember your baseball schedule.







Fireworks trigger stress in war vets
For those with PTSD, festivities are the sounds and smells of combat

By Andy Grimm, Tribune reporter

July 2, 2011


The random pop-pop-pop of firecrackers will reach its seasonal peak with Monday's Fourth of July celebrations, but this most patriotic — and pyrotechnic — holiday can drive many combat veterans away from parade routes and picnics.

Rather than hang around the house for barbecues with friends, some veterans who suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder seek out quiet places away from fireworks, which can set off flashbacks, anxiety and hyperawareness.

"If you are lighting off a firecracker in your neighborhood, there's a very good chance that there is a veteran within earshot," said Dr. John Mundt, a psychologist at Jesse Brown VA Medical Center in Chicago, whose PTSD support groups have devoted several sessions in the last few weeks to coping with the July Fourth fireworks barrage.

"To someone with PSTD, it can sound like small arms fire."

An estimated 11 to 20 percent of Iraq and Afghanistan war vets and nearly a third of Vietnam vets suffer symptoms of PTSD — a figure that means if you light off an M-80 in an urban area like Chicago, there's likely a veteran nearby.

The random, small explosions of bottle rockets and firecrackers pose more of a threat to veterans' peace of mind than a massive municipal fireworks display, Mundt said. When vets can anticipate when and where the noise will come from, and they're in the firework-watching state of mind, they can enjoy a display like the ones at Navy Pier.

But lighting a string of Black Cats at random intervals or shooting off bottle rockets in the middle of the night can trigger in veterans the hyperalertness and adrenaline rush of combat. That conditioned response can set a PTSD sufferer on edge for hours, or trigger memories that lead to depression that will last well past the holidays, Mundt said.

Former Navy Seabee John E. Baker spent parts of two years in Iraq manning a mortar, launching shells and ducking small arms fire from insurgents. For weeks Baker's South Side neighborhood has been filled with festive explosions, and the crackle of a string of firecrackers outside his apartment sets off the same reflexive adrenaline surge as the enemy fire he faced some six years ago.

"You figure out what it is real quick, but you get the tingling, my heart starts racing fast," said Baker, 30. "It might just be for three seconds but it feels like 10 minutes. It can take you away, and you're not there anymore."

Jol Gerardot, a National Guardsman, lives in Crown Point, Ind., where fireworks laws are more liberal than in Illinois. He even enjoys launching fireworks himself, the bigger the better. But when he's sound asleep, a late night volley of firecrackers sends him shooting out of bed..

"I'll be running to the window, looking for my rifle until I realize where I am," said Gerardot, who is still in the Guard after tours in Iraq and Afghanistan. "You don't go back to sleep for hours after that."

Christopher Packley, a 28-year-old former Marine from Morris, said even the smell of gunpowder can trigger powerful memories of his time as a sniper in Iraq during the siege of Fallujah more than seven years ago.

"Fireworks kind of smell like C-4 (a powerful explosive). Bottle rockets sort of sound like an RPG (rocket-propelled grenade)," Packley said.

"I know the difference between fireworks and the real thing, but that doesn't stop the reactions."

Packley acknowledges the sort of people who launch fireworks at all hours aren't considerate enough to worry about annoying their neighbors, much less tormenting nearby veterans. But, he hopes, perhaps an appeal to patriotism on the Fourth of July will give some people a reason to knock off their impromptu displays.

"In most neighborhoods, you know if there's a veteran that lives by you," he said. "I would hope people would think of that before they shoot something off in the middle of the night."

Ohhhh....Kay..... last I checked the Drillers avoided shooting those fireworks off at 4 a.m. 

LOL.

[custosnox]

you must have missed this part

When vets can anticipate when and where the noise will come from, and they're in the firework-watching state of mind, they can enjoy a display like the ones at Navy Pier.

Last I checked, they have a readily available schedule that says when they will have fireworks, not to mention it's not exactly a hard pattern to figure out.

[carltonplace]

I am nearby in 74119 and it is no distraction at all. Our big booms are concrete trucks and refinery processes. All part of the life of a city.

Another 74119  here: we do get some booms from the railroad yards at SW BLVD when they connect the cars, but overall my hood is pretty quiet other than the occasional siren. Its certainly much nicer now that the choo-choos are silent when they head through down town.

[AquaMan]

Another 74119  here: we do get some booms from the railroad yards at SW BLVD when they connect the cars, but overall my hood is pretty quiet other than the occasional siren. Its certainly much nicer now that the choo-choos are silent when they head through down town.

We used to hear those rowing crew boats and megaphones. Not exactly a disruptive sound but surprising how far they carry. Course with no water in the river this year that has subsided.