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July 2024
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Fireworks Safety 101
KEEP THE SKY BRIGHT AND YOUR FINGERS INTACT
I’ve seen my fair share of celebrations turned into unfortunate mishaps, especially during the summer when fireworks light up the sky. With July being National Fireworks Safety Month, it’s the perfect time to discuss seven crucial safety tips for all the fireworks enthusiasts out there. Whether you’re planning a big Fourth of July bash or just a small backyard display, keeping safety at the forefront can ensure your spectacular show doesn’t end in disaster. Understand the legal side first. Before you buy fireworks, it’s important to understand your local laws. Fireworks regulations can vary significantly from one place to another, and what’s permissible in one city or state might be illegal in another. Always check with local authorities or law enforcement to ensure you are not violating any laws, especially when traveling. Remember, just because you can buy fireworks somewhere doesn’t mean you can legally set them off in your backyard. Buy from reputable sources. Always purchase your fireworks from reputable dealers. Avoid buying fireworks packaged in brown paper, as this often means they were made for professional use and are likely too dangerous for the average buyer to handle. Authorized fireworks vendors sell products that meet safety standards and are less likely to malfunction. Keep a safe distance. When setting off fireworks, always ensure all spectators and participants maintain a safe distance from the launch area. REFERRALS WELCOME Thank you for referring clients to us over the years. You will never be
A good rule of thumb is to keep at least a few hundred feet between the firing area and the audience. This distance helps protect everyone from unexpected mishaps. Wear protective gear. Anyone involved in setting off fireworks should wear protective gear. Safety glasses are a must, and wearing gloves can protect your hands from burns and other injuries. It’s a small step that can prevent serious injuries. Never relight a ‘dud.’ Don’t attempt to relight a firework if it doesn’t go off as expected. Instead, wait at least 20 minutes and soak it in a bucket of water. Attempting to relight a dud can result in an unexpected explosion, as the delay could be due to a fault in the firework’s fuse. Dispose of fireworks properly. After the show is over, dispose of fireworks by wetting them and putting them in a metal trash can located away from flammable materials. Proper disposal helps prevent fires and other accidents after the celebration. Keep water or a fire extinguisher handy. Always have water nearby in case of fire or another mishap. It’s also wise to have a fire extinguisher close by, just in case. If something goes wrong, being prepared to douse flames quickly can prevent larger fires and injuries. As we celebrate National Fireworks Safety Month and enjoy the beauty and excitement of fireworks, let’s remember that safety always comes first. Remember, if an accident does occur despite taking all precautions, it’s essential to seek immediate help and contact professionals who can assist you with the next steps. Enjoy the show, and stay safe out there!
embarrassed by a referral to our office. We’re always available to lend a helping hand to anyone with any legal need. Just give us a call at (314) 961-5678 or visit us at BeckLawMO.com .
-Paul Beck
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Cleveland’s Catastrophic Balloon Fest THE GREAT DEFLATION
While you may have heard of Fyre Fest, the disastrous music festival that became the subject of documentaries on both Netflix and Hulu, you may not have heard of its record-setting older cousin Cleveland’s BalloonFest ’86. The event was supposed to improve its reputation. Instead, it became a notorious example of an event planned with good intentions that ended in disaster. More Than Just Hot Air On Sept. 27, 1986, Cleveland held the 1986 BalloonFest as a fundraising event for United Way. This charitable organization works to provide access to health care, education, and economic mobility for underprivileged communities. The idea was simple: For every dollar donated to United Way by Cleveland schoolchildren, two balloons
would be added to the celebration. At the end of fundraising, the tally was 1.4 million balloons: a world record. Shadows From Above After volunteers spent a full night and morning preparing the balloons and the net meant to contain them, they were released in front of Terminal Tower in Cleveland’s Public Square. With more than 100,000 people filling downtown, events quickly went from majesty to misery. The launch went well, but as a storm swept in, the cloud of multi- colored balloons turned into a giant plastic clump blocking air and street traffic and littering nearby Lake Erie. What the Helium?! In addition to shutting down a local airport, helicopters could not operate
over Lake Erie. Tragically, a boat carrying two fishermen had
been overturned that day, and the balloons made it impossible for the Coast Guard to mount rescue efforts in time to save them.
The largest balloon-related disaster outside of the Hindenburg is also notable for setting a Guinness world record, as 1,429,643 balloons were released at once. Unfortunately, that record only makes the event more notorious rather than giving Cleveland the prestigious victory it sought. No wonder no one has attempted to break it since!
WHAT’S THE SCOOP?
TRACING THE HISTORY OF ICE CREAM
While fables exist of Marco Polo returning from his adventures in the Far East with a recipe closely resembling modern-day sherbet, that was not the inspiration for the treat we’re exploring here. The history of America’s favorite dessert is as varied as a cone of Neapolitan ice cream! Beginnings in Europe While people have enjoyed iced desserts for thousands of years, sources tell us that the origin of ice cream dates back at least four centuries , with written records from 1600s Naples boasting that everyone in the city was born with the gift of making sorbet. While this was similar to the dessert we enjoy today, it was still quite different. A typical 18th-century ice cream maker was the sorbetiere , a bullet-shaped pewter mold filled with cream or custard, immersed in a salt and ice slush, and twisted
back and forth with a handle on the lid. Every few minutes, you had to remove the lid and scrape away at the sides to keep it from freezing into a hard block, making it a labor-intensive process. Crossing the Atlantic Our favorite treat likely made its way across the pond sometime in the early 18th century. Our first president, George Washington, was an ice cream fan. In 1784, presumably as a reward for winning the Revolutionary War, he bought a mechanical ice cream maker for his home in Mount Vernon. However, until refrigeration was invented and homemade ice became accessible to the masses, the dessert remained a rare delicacy reserved for the wealthiest Americans. However, by the 1940s, ice cream production flourished, and ice cream shops popped up just about everywhere. The dessert has remained popular ever since, with the average American eating roughly 20 pounds of ice cream yearly!
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TAKE A BREAK
The fast-paced modern lifestyle many subscribe to nowadays has lasting effects on our mental health — from broken sleep to chronic multitasking. A graduate student at the University of Arizona has ideas for protecting our brains from stress created by life’s hustle. Emily McDonald, a doctoral candidate in neuroscience who posts health advice as EmonTheBrain on TikTok, lists these three things to avoid. Avoid your smartphone when you wake up. The brain is highly suggestible upon awakening, and “the content you consume … will have a greater impact on your mindset,” says McDonald, who is also a mental health coach on top of her doctoral work. Studies show that while waking up, the brain transitions from theta waves, a deeply relaxed, inward-focused state, to alpha waves, which promote alertness. Reaching for a smartphone to look for texts or other content often triggers a dopamine release in the brain, encouraging the user to repeat the activity. If this occurs first thing in the morning, it can disrupt your dopamine levels for the rest of the day, leading to a continuous need to check our phones. Resist negative self-talk. Repetitive thoughts about ourselves get wired in over time, and “what gets wired in is what we manifest,” McDonald says. A 2021 study in Scientific Reports shows that brain scans of people who recite scripts expressing self-respect and self-confidence exhibit stronger connectivity in regions associated with motivation. Guard Your Mind, Ignite Your Life BRAIN BOOST
ALIEN BALLPARK CHERRY FIRECRACKER FLAG INDEPENDENCE ORCHID PADDLEBOARD PATRIOTIC SUNDAE
SUNSCREEN TRAMPOLINE
SUMMER PIZZA
Inspired by AllRecipes.com
Ingredients
• 1 lb pizza dough • 1/4 cup pesto • 1/3 cup shredded quesadilla cheese • 10 thin slices of zucchini • 10 thin slices of summer squash • 2 mini bell peppers, thinly sliced
• 1 thin slice of red onion, diced • 1 strip cooked bacon, chopped Butter Glaze (optional) • 1 tbsp butter • 1 tsp steak seasoning
However, it’s important to note that positive self-talk can also trigger overconfidence, leading to impulsivity and inaccurate responses on cognitive tests. Avoid highly processed foods. “There is plenty of science to show that what we eat affects our brains,” McDonald says. An eight- year study of 10,775 people showed that the cognitive functioning of people
Directions 1. Preheat grill to high heat on one side. 2. Reduce the flame on half of the grill burners to low. 3. Roll out pizza dough into a circle. Place dough on the grill over high heat. 4. Close the cover and let dough grill for 1–3 minutes until bottom is slightly cooked and shows char marks. 5. Use tongs to flip crust over and move it to the low-heat side. 6. Brush dough with pesto, sprinkle with cheese, and evenly distribute veggies and bacon. 7. Grill for about 3 minutes until cheese is melted; then carefully remove. 8. Optional: Combine butter and seasoning. Brush crust edges with butter glaze and place pizza in broiler until golden.
who ate highly processed foods, including hot dogs, pizza, pastries, white bread, cakes, and instant noodles, declined 28% faster than that of people who ate more fresh and unprocessed foods. A diet of highly processed foods speeds the aging of the brain, which no one wants.
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INSIDE THIS ISSUE
Your Legal Guide to a Safe and Spectacular Fireworks Show
1
When Balloons Caused Chaos in Cleveland
2
The True Story Behind the Invention of Ice Cream
Summer Pizza
3
3 Tips to Protect Your Mental Vitality
Tips for Meditation Novices
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FINDING SERENITY Start Your Meditation Journey
Modern life is filled with distractions; while some may be harmless, others are negative and draining. Tuning out the noise and focusing on what’s important can be difficult. However, meditation can help focus your mind, combating stress while improving attention. If you want to improve your memory, attention span, and awareness, consider
investment. You don’t need dumbbells, ellipticals, or resistance bands — just time, a quiet space, and patience. Get started with the basics. First, take a seat somewhere quiet. Once settled in a stable position, close your eyes and focus on breathing in and out. While the goal is to stay focused on your breathing,
meditating. Meditation is easy to attempt and difficult to master, but the benefits are well worth the effort. Here is how to start your meditation journey. What is meditation? Before you start, understand that meditation is an exercise for the mind. It has been used for millennia to relax, focus, and de-stress. There are many forms of meditation, from contemplation to mindfulness, each with different objectives. Unlike other workouts, there is no upfront
it is natural for your mind to wander — when it does, the key to successful meditation is to be kind to yourself, notice the thoughts, and then quickly refocus . After 5–10 minutes, you can open your eyes again and go about your day. The more you practice, the less your mind will wander, and the more effective the meditation will be. Like all forms of exercise, it is most effective when built into your daily routine. Best of all, it is easy to get started, and the benefits grow over time.
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