A million sparkling lights

The 4th of July never seems quite right with just David and I. I always miss the family potluck with all those great traditional dishes, hamburgers, fresh vegetables, blueberry or cherry pie. And the growing excitement for dusk, when the fireworks begin. I have always loved fireworks. I love the loud bang followed by an explosion of colored light. I love waiting expectantly for the next display of sparkling light, scattering from a single point, then falling slowly toward the ground until they slowly fade to darkness. The unintentional sinchrony of the 'oohs' and 'aahs' from the crowd.

David and I do our best. We grill some steaks, cook some baked beans, and slice up a juicy, sweet watermelon. But we usually don't get motivated enough to go to fireworks show. We always talk about it, but then decide not to go because we don't want to fight the crowds. Not a very good excuse. This year, it was just growing dark, and I said, "Well,. I guess we're going to miss the fireworks again."

"Let's go find some, then," David said.

So we threw on some shoes and hit the pavement. We could here explosions all around, but could just see a glimmer of light through the trees. We needed to get to high ground. "We need a parking garage, quick, to Sunset Place!"

We hurried up to the parking garage and frantically pushed the elevator up button. We got in and David hit the button for the 8th level. When we got there, we were amazed. As far as the eye could see were fireworks, popping to the left, and then to the right, far off in the horizon. Each town of greater Miami had their own show going on, almost simulataneously. Not to mention all of the "backyard" shows going on. We were just in time to see the finale for the show at the hospital, just a few blocks away.

So we didn't get to spend the holiday with family. But at least we got to share the fireworks with the entire city of Miami.