Fireworks & Thunder Over Louisville

As far back as I can remember, I loved fireworks. I loved the way they looked, how they sounded, and usually the situation through which I was viewing them, was pleasant. The setting was always something that led me to believe it was an exciting time for everyone involved. I remember growing up in Southern Indiana and going to the Greentree Mall to see a fireworks display around the age of 3 or 4. At the time, the Greentree Mall was a booming atmosphere of shops, food, and a good sign the economy was in a decent place. I never understood the connection of the mall to the fireworks. Maybe someone will explain that to me later. But at the time, it didn't matter. I just knew I was there to see something beautiful and amazing. How I got there, or who I was even with, must not have been as important at the time because I don't remember faces. I only remember noticing the bright colors against the black sky, trying to decide which was an ember, and which was a star...And then being surprised either way. I remember fighting with myself on which burst I thought was more awesome than the other: The way the gold weeping willow seemed to strike me in a way no other had... or whether I preferred the giant purple one with the little yellow one going off right in the middle of it... Then again, my favorite color is red, so I am a little partial. Regardless, the moment seemed to end WAAAAY too soon. I'm sure I was the kid who fell asleep in my car seat on the way home due to the traffic being backed up. And if I was with my mom, she usually had some rockin tunes blasting on the radio in the green Buick, which put me straight to sleep without a fight.

A few years after, I had a brother and a cousin to share my happiness with. They were small, but it didn't matter to my grandpa, who thrived on getting the most illegal fireworks from Tennessee he could buy. I remember one year for the 4th of July, he came back to our great-grandparents house with about 6 large brown paper sacks FILLED with bottle rockets, missiles, pagodas, snakes, firecrackers, roman candles, fountains, sparklers, and jumping jacks. I remember him laughing really hard one time after lighting a pack of those really loud whistling missiles... he had no idea how many it really was. He lit it, stood back, and let it happen. About 5 minutes later, he was nearly in tears from laughing. He thought it was so funny they kept going and going and going.. making that louder than life sound. You know the one. It's ridiculously high-pitched and sounds like the neighborhood is being bombed. Keep in mind this was a typical neighborhood in Southern Indiana. It was a little street with beautiful, yet modest houses planted about 20 feet from the next with green yards and blooming flowers. The kind of neighborhood anyone would love to live in if you're into that sort of thing. Having these kinds of fireworks was illegal in Indiana, and if anyone was going to cause a stink about it, it was going to be the people in this neighborhood. Looking back on it now, perhaps Paw-Paw was tearing up because he was thinking of what it would be like in prison. At any rate, he had a great time putting on a magnificent display of beautiful fireworks...

UNTIL.... we took things to the street. I'll never forget this particular night. It was probably just after 9 o'clock when Paw-Paw emptied out the rest of the little fireworks onto the sidewalk. My step-dad showed me how to light the snakes and sparklers while my grandpa prepared for his last hoorah. Before I could get my sparkler lit, I heard a noise I'll never forget. The sound of a fuse being lit, and then this whizzing/whirring sound coming from the street next to me. I turned to see a beautiful ball of light bouncing around in the air and back to the ground like a bunny! It was SO AWESOME! "Paw-Paw! What is that?!?!," I asked with excitement. He said, "It's a Jumping Jack! You like it?"
Just as I was about to answer him, he lit another one. The pink one I was watching was quick to die out on the side of the street. So I was anxious to see the next one! All of a sudden, there it was! A bright green one! It was SO COOL! I was in total awe of these little things! But before I knew it, my demeanor changed as the jumping jack hit an angle of the street and quickly began to come my way! It was coming at me so fast, jumping up and down, that it almost seemed to be chasing me! I ran as fast as I could to the yard, but it was still coming for me! It hopped the sidewalk and went straight into the grass in front of me where it fizzled out. I was HORRIFIED! After that, those kinds of fireworks were never given a second chance in our family. From there out, we'd stick to things that didn't take on robotic or life-like characteristics.

Later in life, as our family grew, against my wishes, we moved to the "country," where the sweet smell of gun powder came in different forms. Mostly that of my neighbors with shotguns, or sometimes, my step-dad with his own shells to fire off when the clock struck midnight on New Year's Eve. But having that land and being in a place where we could make a lot of noise, made it easy for us to host fireworks displays of our own on the 4th of July. I remember having a volleyball/badminton net, games of all kinds, folding tables with food, and everyone invited brought bags of fireworks. It was a picture perfect setting, I suppose. Family with a bunch of little kids running around. The older kids wondering how much longer we had to be there, the parents yapping about whatever they yapped about, and the grandparents rattling off their latest list of physical problems and who just died. But no matter how many worlds we may have been apart, nothing brought us together quite like a few folding chairs and some fireworks. Us kids would always try to "help" the dads with lighting the fireworks. The moms would yell at the dads for allowing us to use matches or a lighter. And in the end, we'd make the best of that argument by sticking with sparklers. We'd try to show the little kids how to make a circle in the air with a sparkler... followed by writing your name in cursive. The boys would be contemplating how they'd sneak a package of fire crackers from the bag. The grandparents kept a close eye on their watches, knowing damn well they couldn't drive in the dark, but never admitting it. If the neighborhood friends weren't already around, they were probably busy doing the same thing at their house just down the street. And even though I wanted to be with them and play have a good time, I was ok being right there in that moment with my family. It wasn't often that we got together for things like this, so why not enjoy it? My step-dad fashioned a device from which to shoot off the bottle rockets. He basically said "Screw the bottle" and opted for a pvc pipe stuck into the ground instead. It worked perfectly! From that launch site came an hour's worth of beautiful, loud, and bright fireworks into the sky above us. My great-grandparents, grandparents, uncles, aunts, cousins, mom, brother, and sister sat there as my step-dad lit the fuses of hundreds of brightly colored, paper-wrapped, gun powder-infused cartons of cardboard. It really was awesome.

It only happened once or twice after that one time. And it was never the same. Cousins didn't come because they were older and wanted to do something with their friends, grandparents moved away, aunts and uncles decided to go somewhere on their own to watch fireworks, etc. I thought I'd never get a chance to feel that way again. To see fireworks in that way, and get from it what I had always gotten from it: happiness and amazement.

Then came Thunder Over Louisville. Since the early 90's, Thunder Over Louisville has been the ceremonial kick-off to the Kentucky Derby Festival in April. The festival is a giant party and basically gets the public excited and riled up for the Kentucky Derby held 2 weeks later on the first Saturday in May. Thunder is also a big giant party, but it ends with the largest fireworks display in North America. All day, people from all over gather in the streets closest to the river in Southern Indiana and Louisville, Kentucky to see a huge air show filled with all types of airplanes, helicopters, and sky divers. People gather throughout the banks of The Ohio River with blankets, chairs, coolers, cameras, strollers, radios, and picnic baskets. There are vendors of all kinds lining the streets with food, beer, soda, funnel cakes, corndogs, ice cream, nachos, burgers, elephant ears, popcorn, roasted pecans, pizza, art, jewelry, t-shirts, toys, and of course... glow sticks. The docks of the river are overwhelmed with boats of all sizes. It's not uncommon for some people to tie their boats together and host a multi-boat party. People just climb aboard one, drink, eat, mingle..then go to the next. And if they aren't having a boat party at the dock, they're out in the middle of the river with the best view of the fireworks at night. This all-day event is truly an amazing and incredible time for anyone who has the balls to go and park and endure the traffic later. Music is playing and when the fireworks begin, the music is synchronized to the sounds and lights and design of the fireworks. There are 2 barges in the river on either side of the bridge that launch the exact same fireworks at the exact same time. Then, there's a 3rd launch site, which is the bridge from Southern Indiana to Kentucky, where some of the most beautiful fireworks seem to pour over the sides like a waterfall... It's amazing. And when that time comes, you'd better have a good view, because you do NOT want to miss a single moment. From the moment they begin, you're immediately transported to a time when you were a kid. Everything in your life goes away. Your problems, your worries, your stress, your sorrow, your job, your finances, your broken hearts, your physical pains... It all goes away. And this lasts for an hour!!! And no matter how old you get, how tough you may think you are, you know you're going to get choked up when you're watching the red, white, and blue fireworks going off to the song "God Bless the USA" by Lee Greenwood. You can lie and say you didn't get a little teary-eyed, but everyone's done it and it's a part of life. Suck it up and let it happen.

The last time I was able to see those fireworks, I was in the presence of some of my closest and dearest friends. It was 9 years ago. I don't know when I'll be able to experience it again, but I know when I do, I'm going to feel exactly the same way I always do, and I'm going to love every second of it.

Here's to all of you who get to experience that today... may you get fat on funnel cakes and beer, may you get high from the doobie-smoker a few blankets over from you, may your bladders be tested while waiting on the next available port-o-potty, may your mind play tricks on you while watching running kids wearing glow-sticks around their necks at night, may your feet hurt from the long walks you'll endure, may your coolers be ransacked by teenagers in search of booze, may your blanket become garbage once you realize it's not gonna make it, may your children give you hell, may your asses hurt from sitting on the ground all day, may your folding chairs give way somewhere around 7:20pm, may your eardrums be blown somewhere around 9:08pm, and may you all have large tanks of full gas for the inevitable long wait in traffic somewhere around 10:30pm. Please do not drink and drive. Please do not discharge your gun. Please do not get into a fight with that white trash guy you want to punch so bad. And PLEASE remember to ENJOY THE EXPERIENCE! :)