And the Rockets' Red Glare!

Fired off from a barge anchored offshore, my town's annual Fourth of July's fireworks reflect off the Long Island Sound, above. The small silhouettes at the bottom are some of the people sitting on the granite boulders all along the shoreline. And, yes, I enjoyed these even more for all of my friends in all the parts of the country that couldn't see fireworks this year due to the heatwave and wildfires. I was sending them telepathically to you!

The red and green lights along the horizon are some of the hundreds of boats' port-and-starboard running lights. When I was a child, my father always brought our boat out at night to see these fireworks. It worked my nerves to be in a speeding powerboat at night, lol, but my dad had been in the Navy for twelve years and was always responsible and as safe as could be.

As one Chrysanthemum bursts open, a second rocket is launched. Some of these fireworks opened up and then opened up a second time as the first faded, which always elicited "oohs and ahs" from the crowds.

On the walk home, in a torrential downpour, lol, we passed one of the towns' historic mansions draped in the largest privately-owned flag I've ever seen. It stretched from the roof of the three story home to the ground. It must have been a good 36-40 feet long and 15-20 feet wide. It was spectacular.

F O U R T H   o f   J U L Y   F E S T I V I T I E S — I had a surprisingly fun, spur-of-the-moment time with my friend Nikki last night, walking down to the Sound to see the Fireworks in our little seaside town of Madison, CT.

It was hot and humid and clouding over, but I just felt like a nighttime walk after my VERY quiet 4th of July at home. I spent the day doing a bit of gardening, kept a Matlock marathon on TV in the background inside (thank you Andy Griffith, once again), and sat at my computers beginning my next work project. 

On my way to town last night around 9pm, as I was walking past Nikki's condos, she drove in after a day spent picnicking and enjoying America's birthday. I told her to put on her sneakers and didn't give her time to even think about saying no. We walked down to East Wharf and then turned right and walked along Middle Beach Road as the fireworks began. They're fired off an offshore barge and it was really delightful. You could see hundreds of boats anchored along the horizon, their green and red "port and starboard" lights glowing softly in the navy blue night. There were babies in strollers, teens on skateboards and bikes, and all sorts of folks walking along the shore road. Some grand summer homes had parties with tables set up on their lawns and porches lit with paper lanterns. In the mere seconds between the bombastic thuds and pops and crackles of the fireworks, jolly July banter and laughter and the clinking of glasses could be heard, as we all "oohed and ahed" at the crimsons, indigos, and sunshine yellows of the fireworks. Did I mention the other fireworks behind us? Nature's! Heat lightning combined with the fireworks to give us a "Sensurround" experience, with the man-made light show lasting for about half of an hour. There were "chrysanthemum" fireworks, "bow ties," some that looked like Queen Anne's Lace flowers, and rarely-seen purple and violet rockets. There were low and wide displays, close to the water, and some that seemed to reach the stars before they burst into color and light, and everything in between. 

And as if on cue, as soon as the finale was over, and the smoke-on-the-water began to dissipate, the skies opened up and rain fell from above, lol. As we made our way home, walking in the throngs of thrilled and jubilant townsfolk, and as the gaily decorated bicyclists weaved in between the slowly creeping cars, the rain began gently at first—just enough to cool us down. And then it began to pour! It was like the best setting on an upscale shower head, lol. The smell of the pavement steaming below us, the aroma of July's plentiful flowers, and the occasional whiffs of patchouli, probably mine, lol, just added up to a wonderful, unplanned evening of classic summer merriment. Nicest end to my 4th of July in years!