"THUMP" (the mortar going off)
"BOOM" (the firework, after reaching its apex, explodes)
"Ooooh" (the crowd)
"Ahhhh" (the crowd, generally said in conjunction with "Ooooh")
I had slept a sum total of two hours last night, then had a busy day (ok, a "busy day" for me could be carrying out the trash, but....) but had full intentions of going out to the rodeo grounds, setting up my camera on a tripod with the "Fireworks" setting and taking some photos. I had in mind I would reduce them all to a min. size, then change to .gif format and put them together in an animation.
I lay down at six yesterday evening after setting my alarm for eight, figuring that would allow me plenty of time to get up and get out and get going to take the photos.
Oh, the alarm woke me up all right; it even GOT me up, but just long enough to turn it off. I went on back to sleep, fretting all the time that I was letting a bit of fatigue mess with my plans. The next time I woke up was when the "THUMP" s and "BOOM"s reverberated through the walls of my house. ( I live about a mile or so from the rodeo grounds, far enough that I see the fireworks explode shortly after I hear the thump of the mortar and THEN hear the firework exploding) When they really get to going fast with the show, esp. near the end, it sounds like how the movies portray war zones, the artillery off in the distance. There are even "rifle shots", firecrackers being let off at odd intervals by the neighborhood hoodlums children.
(and it's always been ironic to me when I hear of people not letting their children play with toy guns, but think nothing of watching fireworks, which, at least on the 4th of July, represent the battle described in the Star Spangled Banner. That's akin to those who decry Harry Potter yet dress up as Santa for their kiddos)
I jumped in my truck and decided to go take some photos; that was a bad move. I went out on the loop around town and the sides of the hwy were taken up with hundreds of vehicles full of folks watching the show.
I came on home, watched some more of the King of the Hill marathon, and took another nap. Now it's the middle of the night, and I can't decide if I should drink some coffee and stay up or go on back to bed and try to sleep some more.
Y'know, it's a decision that matters not one whit to the shape of things in this world and to be honest? It's not really going to make any sort of impact upon my own life, much less any other's. That's how I am going to look at not getting any fireworks photos. It really doesn't matter, does it?
July 5, 2007
Overheard at the fireworks show
July 4, 2007
Plenty of cones, but no ice cream
Brand-spanking new cones (and they really were this bright!) about to be placed for traffic control for tonight's fireworks show.
It ain't art, it's butt ugly.
Taken 7/4/07
Old Armory Bldg.
Rodeo Grounds
Pampa, Texas
You don't want to know what I would do if I were King of Texas.
Baaaaad Billy
Just outside the Pampa city limits are the "horse lots" where people keep all sorts of animals. Most of the pens are empty and full of rusting old cars and sheds with sheets of tin bending with the breeze, but there are some fairly nice lots.
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