Firework Misadventure

My mom keeps telling me that I need to start a blog, and after Saturday's firework show, she suggested that might be a good starting entry. The title of my blog is true--life is great! However, it also refers to some crazy mishaps this summer. (The other, not described in this post, was unintentionally riding raft-less through White Rapids on the Colorado River... I might still post some thoughts on that at a later date.)

Saturday evening, July 24 (Pioneer Day), Joel and Larissa picked me up to head over to Chris's mom's (Rebekka's) home, where we would be joining her and Chris and Marla, Christel (Chris's fiancée), and others for the fireworks show at Herman Franks Park, a ballpark just east of Liberty Park. We went out well before it was dark and enjoyed playing some games and visiting while we waited.

Things started out like any normal fireworks show--well, maybe not quite, because they "announce" the beginning by shooting off a couple of extremely loud fireworks, so everyone jumped and a few people screamed. But that was no big deal and we were soon enjoying a great display of colorful fireworks. I found myself craning my neck to see some of them, because they went so high into the air.

And then things changed... Suddenly one of the fireworks shot off much lower, nearly to the ground. I thought maybe it was intentional; even though it was different, it was definitely pretty. But then they started shooting directly along the ground. They still looked pretty cool, I have to admit that, but as the fireworks themselves came shooting directly at us, it became clear that something had gone wrong! There was a lot of screaming and running. Some of the quickest were those holding small children, and I heard one father shout to his family, "Get to the tree, now!" As everyone else moved, I also moved quickly away from the fence of the ballpark and out into the street. A 3-year-old boy who was part of our little group wouldn't even look anymore and kept saying, "I just wanna get goin'." Even though it took several minutes for them to stop the show, because everything was automated, I don't think anyone enjoyed watching any more of it.

Thankfully, no one in our group was hurt, but unfortunately, some people were. Articles were published the following morning in Deseret News and the Salt Lake Tribune. A video was also posted at Fox 13. As close as we were, I feel blessed not to have seen more problems or to have been injured, myself; I really did expect to see both people and things on fire, so I was glad that wasn't the case. Yikes! Interestingly, it was also not the first fireworks accident in Utah this month; at Stadium of Fire, some fireworks were also shot into the crowd and several people injured. I have to admit, it now makes me wonder whether fireworks are really worth it. Maybe by next July I'll be ready for a good show again...