Post-Fourth of July, Wisconsin

I've never been one to buy fireworks, but I stopped off along I-94 over the weekend to get some sparklers.


I managed to find them, after wandering through bewildering aisles full of product names I couldn't understand. It almost felt like being in a country where I didn't speak the dominant language.


But I understood this notice at the checkout counter well enough. I didn't need a permit for the sparklers.


A little later, we stopped for a small treat. Tootsie Rolls are great because they're already split for two, which means not eating quite as much unneeded junk. But the last time I bought one (not sure when that was... years ago), the two pieces were joined together, sitting on a white piece of cardboard, within a single wrapper. Now each piece is individually wrapped, and then the two are wrapped again in the outer packaging. Who needed that?

No matter what the wrapping, though, there's no change in the Tootsie Roll's resemblance to an unmentionable substance sometimes found on the bottom of your shoe.