This year's celebration of the birth of the nation led inexorably to the death of several dozen hot dogs and hamburgers. Most of the carnage took place at Eric's house where a bunch of us from Purdue met to catch up, eat a hot dog and hamburger dinner, and finally watch an awesome fireworks display on— and I do mean on— the nearby reservoir. Every year the organizers set up the mortars on the lake's dam and shoot them off over the hundreds of boats gathered to see the show. Thanks to Eric's neighbor Doug who owns a boat, the nine of us were fortunate to be among these hundreds.
The show started a bit late due to rain earlier in the evening, but even so, I don't think I've ever seen such cool a fireworks display. Our boat was right at the front, so we had an unobstructed view of the firings not five hundred yards away. Because of the wind and the angle of the shots, the explosions happened almost directly above our heads, and at times, we were afraid the ashes would rain down on us. Luckily nothing burning did, but at one point a charred piece of cardboard landed in the front of our boat. My ex-catty-corner neighbor Josh took it home as a souvenir. After the show, Eric and Doug lit their own collection of fireworks consisting mostly of fountains and roman candles.
As it should be with every Independence Day, we capped off the evening with ice cream.
My thanks to both Eric and Doug for the great celebration.