Fireworks

July 4, 2011

Happy Fourth of July!


No one knew who did it every year.

Most people weren't that interested in finding out, figuring that an especially dedicated family who created a fireworks display rivaling that the city sponsored and funded was to be congratulated for their ingenuity no matter who they were.

At first, a few curious people asked around. Fewer tried to trace the actual origin of the light show but those brave souls were always unable to pinpoint a launching location. It seemed to come from everywhere at once, lighting up the sky in a brilliant display that trumped those set off by the football field.

The people who cared to know finally concluded that the people lighting these independent fireworks traveled to a different empty lots every year to both create the affect and avoid publicity.

And they accepted that. Some things were sweeter when done anonymously.

So, after several years had passed, the citizens of Amity decided that it didn't really matter who their mysterious July Fourth benefactor was.

Everyone sat back together and admired their lights.

Families would gather forty minutes early (for the beginning of the city's fireworks) in order to get good seats for the mystery show. Eventually, the city council realized that the tax-funded fireworks took the backseat on Independence Day and, after being ignored one year when the two shows conflicted, took pains after that to not start until after the other display had concluded.

The city councilmen hated the week after their fireworks, because they were inundated with requests to take lessons from whoever set off the other show. Not only could they not do that, considering that they had no idea who they were supposed to be taking lessons from, but it was extremely humiliating to be shown up by what they considered to be amateurs.

No, every year Amity Park refused to do anything but set off a normal, traditional firework show from the high school, complete with accompaniment from the marching band.

But every year the populace looked forward not to those, but to the mysterious ghostly green blasts that shot across the sky.


No prompt. No editing. But I hope you had a great Independence Day! Our fireworks were fabulous this year. :D