For those of you in the United States, the Fourth of July is just around the corner.
And for those of you who know me personally, you know I love me some fireworks. Over the past several years, I’ve had the pleasure of working on the pyrotechnics crew (Pyrospectaculars) for the City of El Cajon’s Fourth of July show. I work with some incredibly hard working and hilarious men. We get up at the buttcrack of dawn to build and set up the guns, place and wire the product, go through dry runs, set up one hell of a show, light up the skies, and work long after the fireworks have gone off to clean up the mess we made.
It’s glorious. It’s back breaking. And it’s worth it. It literally is the BEST seat in the house. I absolutely love it.
(A huge thank you to Brett Lind for most of these photographs)
Well, this year I’m taking a break. I need to honor and respect my body, as I’ve learned, and sit this one out. Just lifting some things around the house yesterday caused me some pain and I cannot imagine what a 17-18 hour hard labor day would do to me. Perhaps next year. I hope.
My supervisor understands completely and has still invited me to watch the show with them. We will see. I may be fast asleep by that time. 😉
Anyway, I ramble. Today’s quote is all about one of my passions. In 1939, English author Jan Struther (Joyce Anstruther) wrote,
“…[F]ireworks had for her a direct and magical appeal. Their attraction was more complex than that of any other form of art. They had pattern and sequence, colour and sound, brilliance and mobility; they had suspense, surprise, and a faint hint of danger; above all, they had the supreme quality of transience, which puts the keenest edge on beauty and makes it touch some spring in the heart which more enduring excellences cannot reach.”
To the men and women working professional pyro crews this year, please be safe. For those of you who live in states where fireworks are legal, please be careful. Be mindful of your bodies, those around you, skittish pets, and don’t start any damn fires. And to those of you who live in states where it is illegal, just don’t do it. Join a professional crew, if it interests you that much.
Happy Fourth of July! Be safe!
Bloomin' Uterus 