FIREWORKS

Please indulge me as this Blog entry is a re-working of part of one I wrote three years ago.

 

Back in 1983 and 1984 we still had musicals at the college each summer and I of course worked on them and I have written about them in earlier blog posts.

But during those two summers we took a break early in July when I had the pleasure of helping set off the local fireworks show.

My then colleague Michael Voss was trained in pyrotechnics and fireworks and was in charge of the show with several of our student workers and myself helping him.

I think back now and cringe a bit to think that all of the fireworks were stored in several boxes in what is now my office and Mike would label and organize all of the shells.

In the afternoon of the day of the show we would go over to the field and dig holes for the pipes that would be used as the mortars that would launch the shells.

We would also set up the single-use cardboard tubes for the shells that were used as part of the Grand Finale.

It was July and of course it was very hot but we still had to wear long sleeves and hats to stop the falling burning embers from the firework shells.

It is hard to describe the experience without saying it was a BLAST!

During the show I was assigned two mortars to load with the firework shells that were stored 50 feet away in a covered box.

I would run back and forth between the mortars and boxes, stopping to clean out the mortar between shots, careful not to look in or have your head over the end on the pipe.

One of the years we did have a shell that went up and came back in the same field near us, the firemen quickly put it out and we had no other problems.

During the show I was so busy I did not get to watch and enjoy much of it as I was so focused on the job at end.

At the end of the half hour show I was drenched with sweat, exhausted but very pumped up and went out with the crew for some celebratory beers.

The second year was just as much fun but I remember to wear ear plugs.

I still love watching fireworks, but each 4th of July I think back to how much fun I had those two summers.

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