in which my hair does not catch fire

I've always lived somewhere with official town fireworks. And as an adult, I've been lucky to live somewhere with over-the-top celebrations. Televised ones. (Staking out a spot at the Capitol is easier than at the Esplanade, but it's 10 times muggier in D.C. You win some, you lose some.)

So imagine my surprise when I learn that there's only one place in all of Washtenaw County with an official fireworks show. And it's not Ann Arbor. It's not even convenient to Ann Arbor. We expanded our search to neighboring counties, and there is something over in Plymouth - closer than the one in-county - the night before. (I'm still adjusting to counties actually functioning as real entities!)


But rather than deal with parking somewhere new late at night, we decided to hang out with a couple of Arthur's colleagues who had bought fireworks. (Also an adjustment - living somewhere where it's legal to buy/sell fireworks!) They're right next to a large empty (church) parking lot with plenty of safe space to set things on fire.

Which means that at age [redacted], I experienced amateur fireworks firsthand for the first time. I've never been around more than the little cherry poppers before. Sure, I've heard unsanctioned fireworks a generous number of times (living next to a quiet cemetery for 9 years had that one little negative side effect...), but I've never seen them nor been with folks who were lighting them.


It was kinda' cool. It's definitely different without a concert, or a BBQ, but it's fun to watch as people jump back after lighting the wick. And seeing what actually comes out. And now I know it's bottle rockets that I loathe. Oh man, there have been just too many nights when they've been sleep's nemesis. Bottle rockets are evil. There's not even enough flash to be worth the noise.


And it turns out there are a lot of unofficial fireworks out there (neighborhood level?), and the flatness here is useful because it doesn't take much of a hill to get a decent 360° view.



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Although yes, I still miss Dan's old rooftop view, and of course DT's pork nuggets. The holiday snuck up on us, so the opportunity to "forge new traditions" sort of misfired, and instead made us miss our usual July Fourth activities. We absolutely need to plan better next year.

However, we have two parties this weekend, plus a picnic/brunch (and a gaming night last week). Suddenly it feels like we might have a social life. Poof. Out of nowhere. Julia said these things usually take about a year. Well, it's almost a year.