Fireworks everywhere

This year, I’ve seen fireworks displays in three countries, three states, five cities. That’s an unusual number of times, especially since it’s only mid-July. (Holy shit, it’s mid-July! Whatever happened to this year– or this decade, for that matter?)

I’ve witnessed New Year’s Eve fireworks in Baguio (Philippines), BenCab’s celebratory fireworks to mark the opening of his museum (Baguio, again), Tet (Vietnamese New Year) in Ho Chi Minh City, fireworks at Phish (Alpine Valley, Wisconsin), fireworks at Disneyland (Anaheim, Calif.), fireworks at Summerfest (Milwaukee, Wis.) and Fourth of July fireworks in New York City.

Fireworks at the BenCab museum

While Araceli, Stacey and I were watching the amazing lights displays from both the New Jersey AND New York City (we watched the Fourth of July fireworks from Battery Park), I realized how lucky I was. Fireworks, no matter what, are portents of celebration, revelry and happiness. You have any kind of holiday, any party, any kind of fun event, and someone lights a firestick that explodes in the sky. And there I was, on my seventh show in a year, each event extra special. It’s good to know my life is full of celebration and sparkly lights going strong into the night.