Fireworks in the Round

Photo of a rainbow in a gray sky with trees below.

Fireworks are illegal in New Jersey, except on July 4th. Just kidding. They’re illegal 365 days of the year, but pyrotechnic scofflaws get something of a free pass on Independence Day.

So, on The Fourth rather than dealing with the crowds at one of the big town fireworks shows, we headed out on the deck after dinner and watched the fireworks our neighbors were shooting off. Sure, the sky booms might not have been nearly as big and showy as those professional shows, but what they lacked in firepower they more than made up for in being immersive.

We had a 360 degree view of fireworks with neighbors to pretty much every side of us getting in on the action. Even Mother Nature didn’t want to be left out. There was a thunderstorm off in the distance, and when the sky wasn’t being lit up with fireworks there were flashes of lightning high up in the clouds. With thunder and fireworks booms echoing through the hills, it almost felt like George Washington and the Continental Army were in the midst of a nearby battle.

It was a pretty cool moment, and then it got cooler. Someone nearby began playing “The Star-Spangled Banner” on an electric guitar. So, we enjoyed a concert along with the show. It was all a bit surreal, but in a good way.

Anyway, I attempted to take some pictures, but all they look like is creepy dark clouds so you’ll just have to make do with my description and the picture of a backyard rainbow from one of the pre-July-4th storms we had here that did mercifully bring our heatwave to an end.

—Alissa