The names - TNT, Red Devil, Big Bomb, Black Cat, Parachute Over Dixie - signify explosive power, fun and danger.
Those names steadily tempt buyers year after year at New Year's despite what goes on in the economy, says Kevin Pernell, who runs Star Spangled Fireworks, a small trailer stand in front of his business, Repairs Inc. near the intersection of Grenada Boulevard and Mississippi 7 North.
"The good thing is that prices aren't going up," Pernell said. "They aren't going up, but they're not going down either."
Pernell, who said sales are better this December than last, opens his stand twice a year, around July 4 and between Christmas and New Year's. The biggest difference between the two holiday periods is the type of fireworks customers want.
"For New Year's people like to buy artillery shells and bigger rockets," he said. "On the Fourth of July they tend to buy the smaller stuff."
The big cannons, such as the Burning Halo Seven-Shot Double Ring Burst, run upwards from $40. They add a touch of professionalism to a backyard fireworks display, exploding in huge bursts that open high in the sky. Pernell is also selling some new items: Cyclone Rockets for $7.99 a pack, Crystal Comets for $2.99 and Tornado Alley for $7.99.
Across town at Fireworks City USA on U.S. 82 East, many customers shop for variety. Owner A.G. Goss said most people buy variety packs that contain a barrage of fireworks and generally cost between $49.95 and $69.95. A new addition to Goss's inventory this year is the Heartstopper, a giant cube of artillery shells that costs $24.95.
"It's out of sight," he said. "They shot one out here. It has 25 shots and shoots four at a time. It just filled the sky."
But the smaller explosives, the bottle rockets and cherry bombs, keep emergency-room doctors prepared to handle more burn injuries on New Year's Eve.
"Every year we're going to see one or two usually around this time of year, sometimes more," said Dr. Jeff Moses of Greenwood Leflore Hospital.
Most of the accidents Moses has treated involve children who misjudged the lighting time of fireworks or who shot bottle rockets or Roman candles at their friends instead of at the sky.
"They get pretty severe burns to the hands," Moses said. "When they used to sell M-80s, they could blow off fingers, but we really don't see that anymore. It's mainly children getting hit in the face or eyes with bottle rockets."
To prevent accident and injury, Goss and Pernell suggest following directions. All one needs to know is written as an advisory on every firework label, Goss said.
Based on the directions, fireworks should be used only outdoors under adult supervision. Never stand over lit fireworks. Once a fuse is lit, fireworks users should give the explosive a wide berth. Never hold active fireworks in hand. Always be aware of surroundings, keeping a look out for dry or dead foliage and grass.
Firework use is legal only outside corporate limits and only on private property. That law includes sparklers, Greenwood Assistant Police Chief Louis Grones said.
The Greenwood Police Department is keeping its normal patrol tonight. The Leflore County Sheriff's Department will be on normal patrol to make sure that revelers keep fireworks on their own property, Under Sheriff Jimmy Tindall said.
