Fourth of July has never been one of my favorite holidays. Forget all that stuff about freedom and independence, the 4th of July reminds me that we are only 4 days into the 2nd hottest month of the summer. that's not so fun for me. Instead of celebrating with outdoor activities, it seems to me that we should all stay inside, with the lights off, curtains drawn, running ice cubes up and down our arms and legs, staying clear of sunlight until the day has passed and we can get on with summer as quickly as possible. But because I'm not Jane Eyre, I feel it necessary to partake in some sort of holiday observance in an effort to appear grateful for our great, independent nation.
While I certainly won't complain about the time off from work, and in this year's case, a wonderful Wednesday sandwiched between hell and a hotter hell, i will admit that it was much appreciated. But here's the thing that really gets me: fireworks. I find the entire display to be somewhat degrading to the average human. Fireworks displays are like a crazy old aunt shaking a baby rattle in my face. I'm supposed to ooo and ahhh and be entirely amazed by what some explosives have produced; I was more entertained at all those bat mitzvah's of my younger years when a hired dancer with a mullet, leftover from the 80's, shoved a glow stick in his mouth, lighting his mouth with a cool neon green. i mean, if you're gonna explode anything, i guess fireworks would be my number one choice. you know, instead of bombs or something.
But here's what really gets me: the anticlimax of it all. You sit and watch these sparklers go off, waiting for it to get better and better and towards the end you start to think "is THIS the finale?" "was THAT the finale?" and when it's all over, you're like: "wait, THAT was the finale?" It's all a low blow and i think in general, as a life lesson (not just when it comes to fireworks), one should not keep waiting for things to get better. fireworks point this very lesson out to me and make me feel bad for feeling this way. thus, july 4th is less of a celebration for me and more like yom kippur, in which, i repent for my sins and bad behavior (which of course is minimal).
While I certainly won't complain about the time off from work, and in this year's case, a wonderful Wednesday sandwiched between hell and a hotter hell, i will admit that it was much appreciated. But here's the thing that really gets me: fireworks. I find the entire display to be somewhat degrading to the average human. Fireworks displays are like a crazy old aunt shaking a baby rattle in my face. I'm supposed to ooo and ahhh and be entirely amazed by what some explosives have produced; I was more entertained at all those bat mitzvah's of my younger years when a hired dancer with a mullet, leftover from the 80's, shoved a glow stick in his mouth, lighting his mouth with a cool neon green. i mean, if you're gonna explode anything, i guess fireworks would be my number one choice. you know, instead of bombs or something.
But here's what really gets me: the anticlimax of it all. You sit and watch these sparklers go off, waiting for it to get better and better and towards the end you start to think "is THIS the finale?" "was THAT the finale?" and when it's all over, you're like: "wait, THAT was the finale?" It's all a low blow and i think in general, as a life lesson (not just when it comes to fireworks), one should not keep waiting for things to get better. fireworks point this very lesson out to me and make me feel bad for feeling this way. thus, july 4th is less of a celebration for me and more like yom kippur, in which, i repent for my sins and bad behavior (which of course is minimal).
However, there is a solution but i can't claim it was my own. Rather, it was the work of the brilliant joe shmo, standing next to me at the fireworks "celebration" last night. While I was eaves dropping on his conversation, i heard him make a joke about going to see the "firework." He started saying things like: "let's all meet up to watch the firework" and "wow, that was a great one, can't wait for next year's firework!" Can you imagine if, on the 4th of july, everyone gathered to watch one single firework explode in the sky? Now that, I could handle.
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