Front-Row for Fireworks

 On the 4th of July, I watched fireworks with Kevan and Katie and my friend Pam. Kevan assured us that he knew of a good spot, so he led the way, as we left my apartment and started rolling/strolling up Calhoun Street. 

The fireworks are famously shot off one of the tallest buildings in town, the Indiana Michigan Power Center, at the corner of Calhoun and Wayne, only four blocks directly down the street from my apartment. With a third-floor apartment and a distance like that, you might be thinking, "Couldn't you just watch from your living room window?" And that would seem to be ideal, except that all four of my windows give me a view of a concrete wall... So we go out in search of a better view.

We cross Superior Street, go under the train tracks, and past the Landing, a pedestrian street that is already filling up with lawn chairs and picnic blankets. "Oh, this is a nice spot," I think. "A clear picturesque view of the courthouse (Fort Wayne has a lovely courthouse) and the fireworks will go off around it." But Kevan kept going.

We cross Main Street and get to the courtyard outside the courthouse, where there are kids throwing snappers on the ground and there are strollers of unsuspecting toddlers, minded by parents who all-too-casually await the explosions. "Ok yeah, this is a better spot with fewer obstructions - you can actually see the blinking red lights at the top of the IMPC here." But Kevan kept going.

We cross Berry Street and I think I figure out Kevan's plan. Afterall his beloved and infamous coffee shop, Fortezza, is on this block, so maybe he is wanting to sit under its coffee-colored awning to watch. But we pass Fortezza, pass the alley, pass the parking garage, and pass one more streetlight that might possibly hinder our experience. And Kevan stops... in the middle of the street. 

Well, he had to stop, because police cars and fire trucks were blocking Wayne Street so we couldn't get any closer. Otherwise, I'm pretty certain Kevan would have managed to get us up on the roof of the IMPC with the pyrotechnicians. Nevertheless, I'd say we had front-row seats. No one was standing or sitting in front of us, and a much sparser array of blankets, lawn chairs, and strollers were at least 20 feet behind us. 

Katie and Pam set up their lawn chairs next to Kev and I, and following our captain's lead, we all reclined and looked straight up into the night sky. At that moment, we heard a fizz, saw a flickering tail zip off the roof, and felt the boom in our chests as the firework exploded right over our heads and saw the shower glowing bits of debris around us. 

The next half hour was slightly terrifying but also incredibly thrilling. People, you have not experienced fireworks until you have felt the heat on your face and tasted the acrid stench of gunpowder. In the grand finale, the surge of explosions was overwhelming - too bright to look directly at, so loud I thought my eardrums would burst. It got real. But also, surreal. 

I'm glad Kevan didn't settle for less, didn't let us stop where we thought it was sufficient. I'm glad he led us further up and further in to have a deeper, more beautiful, more exciting, and far more memorable experience.