2002-07-05 - 3:07 p.m.

Small Town America and the Smoke Spiders

With the Bay-Area being only an hour away, I frequently forget that living in Davis is probably the closest I�ll ever be to living in Small Town USA. Last night I was supposed to hook up with Cloud and Bronco to see the modest City of Davis fireworks. I did manage to drive to that side of town and then walk the rest of the way to the city park. But I was shocked to see thousands of others do the same thing.

As a kid half of my 4th of July celebrations were spent in Pittsburgh. Some of the displays we�d go to Three-Rivers Stadium (now just history) and watch the fireworks from the river front. Other years we�d go to smaller displays, but I only have vague memories of them.

Probably the most enjoyable memory I have is from three years ago, when Bane, his ex, and I all went to see the fireworks in San Ramon, California. Rich people seem to put on great shows. But there were tens of thousands of people at that show. Last night I couldn�t find Bronco or Cloud I the crowd. There were just too many people. So instead I wandered over to edge of the park and sat next to all the bikes people rode in.

It was weird. I felt out of place � I wasn�t wearing red-white-blue like the majority of everybody else, but people from all walks of life kept asking me for directions. Little kids, old lady�s, middle aged dads, and people who really couldn�t speak English.

Dressed in Black

I was worried that maybe I looked like a park police. I was wearing my EMT jacket (It isn�t mine, Minmei gave it to my a year ago), but I had a Transformers T-shirt on under the jacket and my hair cut is not military. OK, maybe in the dark it looks like I�m wearing a beret, but still �

It was fine. I spent the night telling people:
The show will start around 9:30,
They will launch the fireworks from the High School,
No, no, you will not catch on fire,
I�m sorry, I don�t know where the restrooms are, can you hold it?
Yes, you can leave your bike here, but I�m not going to watch them all night.

People are weird.

Smoke Spiders

If you pay close attention, the smoke that is left behind an explosion looks just like a smoke spider. It was creepy. It is GAF (Goth As Fuck) to hate all things government, including the celebration of it (July 4th). But hey, I do like lying in the grass and looking at smoke spiders. It is like watching clouds fly overhead, but these clouds are closer to you and once came from blue and green things burning up.

LISTENING TO: Impressions of Winter Iutuma

-=-

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