From Elvis Presley to Taco Tuesday and zombies, my step-uncle Eric's fireworks shop has just about any firework you can imagine in any theme.
Eric's Passion For Explosions 🧨
This small unassuming shop in southern Indiana wouldn't appear to be overloaded with fireworks, but step inside and you will be amazed. My step-uncle on my stepdad's side of the family owns this shop, and his name is not Sergeant Pepper, it's Eric, but the name sure gives the shop a lot of character.
As you might've noticed in the thumbnail, there are even Elvis Presley themed fireworks, proof China possibly knows American customers better than they know themselves. Can you find a bucket KFC WFC Chicken in the photo above? Just another example of how fireworks are tailored to cultural trends to increase sales.
Not Just Fireworks 👕
If you want a little fashion with your fireworks, this is the place for you fashionistas to make an explosive statement with a variety of Sgt. Pepper's t-shirts, all printed in-house. You can see a few shirts hanging on the wall on the left side of the above photo. There are many more shirts in other places, and because Eric is a shirt-o-phile, I brought him a few Cambodian t-shirts and he gifted me with a mound of Sgt. Pepper's shirts to clothe my family and I.
There are also many odds and ends in the shop, so if you're not firework obsessed you can can still enjoy your time here. Unfortunately I wasn't going to be in Indiana long enough to enjoy some fireworks, so I didn't purchase anything, but instead I had a lot of fun taking pictures of the artwork adorning each different style of fireworks package.
Are These CBD Fireworks 🚬
Smoke bombs are something I enjoyed playing with as a kid, at least when I both had enough money to buy some and there were some to be found. Sgt. Pepper's has a variety of smoke bombs, but what caught my eye were some display stands that looked like something from a cannabis dispensary. China is obviously very clued into American pop culture, so enjoy your smoke bomb CBD spliffs 🤣.
The Artwork Is Captivating 👨🎨
Perhaps it's because I've been high in the remote Cardamom Moutains now for over a year, but I was simply mesmerized by all the packaging, logos, and signage in the USA. There aren't many packaged goods around here, and even then we have to drive 30km to shop for them, and it's only stuff like skin whitening creams and fake Pringles chips, not nearly as exciting as Taco Tuesday fireworks 😁.
I dare say a fireworks store is a museum of modern American culture in a sense. If I were a foreigner in my own country and had only 5 minutes to experience the essence of America, a demolition derby, trip to a fireworks store, or a visit to Wal-Mart would rank high on the list. Just look at the grenade thing above on the right, appropriately titled Bad Ass Neon.
Great Balls Of Fire 🔥
"Goodness gracious, great balls of fire.."
This is a line from an old Jerry Lee Lewis song, and I find many fireworks target a male buyer aged 50+, mostly because these are the people who have the most disposable income to buy such things. Sidenote - Jerry Lee Lewis married his 13-year-old first cousin when she was aged 13 and he was 22, and this more or less killed his career. Despite being a creep he was a prodigy on the piano.
Freedom By The Pallet 👷
There is the one and only Sgt. Pepper himself (aka Eric), piloting the Toyota forklift. A delivery arrived while I was visiting, so it was a great opportunity to get some action shots and see some new merch roll off the back of the truck.
The above box really made me laugh because it read "Proud to be an American," but of course it's direct from China because they pretty much run the global fireworks industry these days.
I was surprised to see some fake beer bottle packaging, but I didn't read the box to see the description of how they work or what kind of explosive fun they emit.
Every time I visit my old hometown I stop by to see Eric at his shop. There aren't many good conversationalists in this part of the USA, and even less people truly curious about my life overseas. We always have good conversations, and I'm interested in pretty much anything, so I really enjoy learning more about fireworks, silk screening and printing shirts, and pretty much any new hobbies or interests he gets into.
At the back of the lot I saw an old box truck that I remember from my highschool days. It's got nice branding on it, and of course the address and name of my town, Princeton. At the moment the truck has a long list of mechanical issues, so it's more of a billboard than a box truck. Well, that about sums it up for this adventure. In case you didn't already know, I am back in Cambodia now, but there are still a couple of American adventures left to share before I begin posting somewhat close to real-time life events. Until next time....
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Return from 🪖 Sgt. Pepper's Fireworks 🎆 My Step-Uncle's Shop In Indiana 🧨 to Justin Parke's Web3 Blog
