Last weekend my wife suddenly looked up from what she was doing and said, in a rather startled way: “I just realized that I am enjoying the quiet.”

She was referring, of course, to the fact it was Halloween and there hadn’t been the sound of a single firework going off.

We live way out in the boonies half-way to Lake Cowichan but this remoteness had not, in the past, spared us the bombardment of sporadic explosions for two or three days in advance of Halloween and for a day or two afterward.

In previous years it’s been a chore to get our timid canine house companion named Angel to venture outside for a whiz and a poop; let alone leave the security of her doggie bed snuggled in the back corner of the bedroom – not even for food.

Police reports confirm the new CVRD bylaw governing fireworks helped quiet things down this year; that and the fact local communities throughout the valley laid on some pretty terrific activities for young people and families.

I must admit to having been of two minds when the CVRD was working through the process of putting the fireworks bylaws in place. I’m not exactly a fan of creeping regulation where governments everywhere seem to want to protect us from ourselves.

This fireworks thing was going to be one more area of activity where government was going to say people weren’t responsible enough to handle themselves.

Had I had a say in the matter I probably would have told the regional district it had more important matters to direct its attention to.

I think I remember at the time there had been some pretty scary incidents in Cobble Hill in which some young rowdies were using roman candles like guns and shooting brilliantly burning globs of gun powder down private home driveways.

CVRD Chair Gerry Giles was pretty upset then and was determined to do something about the problem.

As kids my generation got up to some pretty stupid stuff at Halloween but I don’t recall there being much in the way of personal injury or any serious damage to homes or schools.

There was the occasional story about someone losing a hand or fingers and most people just shrugged and thought it probably served that kid right for being an idiot.

I probably feel much the same way today and wish political busy-bodies weren’t so darn intent on taking all the risk out of life.

This tendency fits my theory that many politicians do not really grasp what their core responsibilities are and instead go after something they understand – and all too often that means placing controls on or outlawing something and taking the fun out of things.

If it isn’t too noisy, it’s too dangerous; and if it isn’t too dangerous, it’s bad for the environment.

Bah humbug!

At least my wife and our dog Angel are happy the CVRD is helping to keep fireworks out of the hands of yahoos.

Got a tip or a comment? Email me at phrushowy@shaw.ca