Hopeful for the future

What a show our volunteer firemen put on every year.

Whenever I see fireworks it always takes me back to two times in my life – my grandfather and Disneyland.

When I was growing up, grandpa used to order in fireworks from some company out of state. I was always so excited to see that huge box arrive. It was like opening a pirate’s treasure chest with all the things that sizzle and boom.

Come 4th of July, since we lived on a corner, grandpa and my mom would set the fireworks off in the intersection of the street and the neighbors would sit in their lawnchairs and watch our show.

My grandmother was rather fond of firecrackers and I’ll never forget her sitting on the curb with her apron full of firecrackers, lighting each one before tossing it into the street. That system worked well until she dropped one of the lit ones into her lap and blew a huge hole through her apron all the way through her dress.

Of course, for me, watching grandma dancing around while the firecrackers were going off was probably the funniest thing I’d seen in my life.

And then there’s Disneyland.

We had gone to Disneyland right after troops were called up for Desert Storm.

After a long day of rides and fun, it was time for the fireworks from behind Cinderella’s Castle.

If you’ve never been to the Happiest Place on Earth, they have theme music for the seasons that the fireworks are synchronized to. This night, it was American night in honor of the troops.

I will tell you, as those bombs were bursting in air there wasn’t a dry eye in the park when “God Bless the U.S.A.” played. It was a time when the thousands of people there became one, standing in the streets of Disneyland, proud of who we were and hopeful for the future.