It was nice at 3:30 but it seemed to get hotter as time went by. And then the people showed up.
The sun went down and we began to get excited. We had been sitting and sweating for about 4 hours.
Oliver brought sparklers and met up with us around 8:00. He was the only one to bring sparklers. 4 or 5 of us brought lighters, assuming others would bring some.
The sun finally went down. A moderately cheesy voice started chanting about America from a stage about 150 yards away.
And then the band started playing, we knew it was about to start any minute.
As I watched a disturbing feeling grew in my chest, I could not identify that I felt.
I began to enjoy it a little bit, but the feeling did not leave. Tom began to sing along with anthem in his most obnoxious voice, sure it was disrespectful but it was worth hearing other people yell at him to shut up.
The fireworks are set off from a barge close to shore. When it was part way through the finally it caught fire. The fireworks began to explode lower and lower and then to the point when they had no order at all. When it seemed as if we were at the end of the show, the announcer pretended nothing was wrong. He began reading lottery ticket numbers as part of a fundraiser for fireworks next 4th or July.
People began to leave, black smoke billowed from where the barge was. Some jumped the temporary plastic fence to go look at the barge, fireworks continue to go off randomly about ever minute or so. A dim glow of flames reflected off the black smoke. No one knew what to do, some ignored it and walked home, others got as close as possible (pretty stupid).
As I stood in the crowds flowing away from the area I watched the glow of the fire get brighter. Fireworks began to go off less frequently, but they were still going off only a hundred feet or so from the ground. I could feel the explosions in my chest. Simply, this was so damn strange, for a brief moment after each explosion you can see directly into a strangers personality through their reaction.
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