Verbal Fireworks

We were having a nice, quiet holiday, even staying home while the kids went to the parade.  Fireworks had been purchased; food was ready to go on the grill.

Then the boys decided it was a good idea to set off bottle rockets.

At first they aimed them into a pool of water and enjoyed watching the water turn to steam.  When that got old, they began aiming them across the street at the empty green space.

Altercation #1:  Woman in pink shirt complains the rockets are landing too close to her kids.  Spouse told the boys to aim them elsewhere.

Altercation #2:  Pink shirt complains again when one bottle went rogue, and calls reinforcements, her family.  Profanity gets yelled.  Stepdaughter yells back, and a verbal pissing match ensues.

Altercation #3:  Grandson and oldest granddaughter add their voices to the fray, causing tempers to flare and a threat to be issued.  Stepdaughter tells Pink Shirt to 'come on over'.  Pink Shirt threatened to call the cops.

At this point, I intervened, and told both Granddaughter, Grandson, and Stepdaughter to stop talking and walk away.

Altercation #4:  Everyone starts yelling at ME, trying to justify their positions.

Which leads me to believe that common decency has nearly disappeared.  People are so used to hiding behind a computer/tablet/phone and saying (typing??) exactly what's on their mind, that when a face-to-face conflict arises, they revert to age 3 behavior.  Name calling, profanity.....no matter what the age of a child is present.  My efforts to calm the situation and diffuse it failed because I'm the only one who still has a shred of common sense left in her body!!!

Pink Shirt and her family eventually did move on to the public fireworks, which caused the stepdaughter and I to tongue-in-cheek wonder at some of the larger displays...."Is she complaining NOW about the fireworks landing too close to her kids?"

A policeman did show up, but no one 'fessed up about who was making the complaint.  He didn't question us.

Wonder what will happen next year?  Will she have on the same Pink Shirt, or will I be referring her as another color?  Will the family LISTEN to me next year?  Will the BOYS listen next year, and shoot them off in another direction?

Only time will tell.