What you've all been waiting for

Of course, few of you would ever admit it.
But, deep down you know it's true.
You've been waiting, anticipating, yes admit it, eager..
for a new JimNastics blog.


Well, the wait is over.

Yep, here it is in all it's glory.

Yesterday evening I went home.
Like a salmon swimming upstream, I went back to the town where
I was raised. My plan was to watch the 4th of July fireworks there. It's a small town, but they get into the 4th of July in a big way and last night did not disappoint.

I got there early however, so I knocked on the door of my old neighbor across the street. Sure enough Rose still lived there. Unfortunately, her husband, also named Jim died earlier this year. I didn't know. Several years ago,
her son (also named Jim) died in a motorcycle accident. I went to the wake & funeral.

After some discussions of old times, Rose wanted me to meet the people who recently bought the house I used to live in. They turned out to be a very nice couple and I was even able to answer some questions about the fireplace. My uncle Tony built it, with some help of me and my dad. Well, basicly, all I did at age 8, was carry the bricks and track some dirt & cement on the carpet.

After giving Rose a hug goodbye, I gave her my business card and then walked down to where the shoot off the fireworks to get a front row seat. A large crowd had gathered and there were lots of ooooooohs and ahhhhhs as a terrific fireworks show took place. I had my camera on a tripod and got some terrific shots.

There was a slight breeze in the direction of the crowd and we literally got rained upon by bits of burned out fireworks. In all my years of watching fireworks, I've never experienced this.
After it was over, I ran my fingers through my hair and must have pulled out 30 bits of burned metallic debris. During the show one coin sized ember on the ground in front of me was still glowing. I stomped it out.

I think I'll first check the wind direction before choosing a seat next year. Nonetheless, it was fun and I got out of there quickly, when it was over. Being very experienced with the locale, I knew EXACTLY where to park my car to avoid the traffic leaving the show. I got home in less than 10 minutes.

It was a fun time and all sorts of memories of my childhood flooded my memory.