Poem: July 4th Red Lodge riot

Recalling an American birthday a generation ago with a riff on “Howl” by Allen Ginsberg.

I saw the best (and worst) minds of my generation destroyed
by madness, starving hysterical naked, firing rockets at the stars, 
cowboy hipsters, eyes sparkling in the moonlight, howling into
the 4th of July night before, in a flash, being brought to tears.
Were you there that year? Did you, too, lose your sight at the
Red Lodge dynamo? It wasn’t that long ago.  

July 4th, 1975.
Confirmed the year, looked it up in Red Lodge at the Carbon County News,
found the tear sheet, the original article, in a hefty leather-bound book that
smelled of onion and snoose.

The headline stated,
26 Nabbed During Disorders
The article recounted what transpired that day, a long fuse that got lit with
early Bloody Marys and led to red beer to parade to rodeo to more beer to shots
to double shots to moving bar stools outside to dodging bottle
rockets shot by raucous inebriates on rooftops,

until the sun and fuse ran down, someone bucked through a store window,
and the birthday party exploded like an M-80 and Smoke Bomb. Fears of the
town burning to the ground flew like embers to the VFW, where older townsfolk
were getting down, celebrating America at their own hullabaloo.  

The old party freaked upon learning of the young party. Which is why
a man of the Guard strode out in front of the Blue Ribbon Bar, donned a
gas mask and tossed a smoking object, not a peace pipe, into the air.
As soon as the singe hit the eyes it was clear, they’d brought tear gas
to the party.

Lids jammed shut, members of the young party stampeded blindly down
the street, hung tight to the shirt of the one in front, and tumbled into the
Snag to flush the pain and anger out. It wasn’t a happy birthday for the
red, white, and blue. In stark black and white, news of the night read:
  
26 Nabbed During Disorders  
Billings Lawmen Help
Smoke bombs, tear gas and billie clubs dispersed holiday revelers early
July 5 after window-smashing occurred on Main Street downtown.

Local law enforcement squads were aided by personnel from the
Yellowstone County Sheriff’s Office and riot control specialists from the
SWAT (Special Weapons and Tactics) team from the Billings city force.

Two smoke bombs preceded more drastic measures of tear gas and clubs.
The street was cleared within an hour. The revelers, many of whom climbed
rooftops in the downtown area for vantage points, milled around the four-block
 barricaded area of Main St. without major incident until after midnight.
 
At that point, windows were knocked out at Marchello’s IGA and the order
was given to clear the street. The hospital as well as Main Street saw lots
of action. Thirty-five persons were treated for cuts and bruises July 4,
including one woman run over by a car, say doctors. On July 5, 20 more
persons were treated. More than 90 percent were Billings residents.

Both parties, fit to be tied, loose on the street like drunken steers, shooting out
words that splattered against brick walls, flinging insults and fists, smoke
pouring out ears, until the moon and exhaustion set in and the fire went out.

Later, birthday over, the young party and old party gathered about and began 
picking up bottles and cans. Some even shook hands.