Fireworks

In the week between Christmas and New Year’s day, all the large tents on Colonial Drive are converted from selling Christmas Trees to selling fireworks. Dry Christmas Trees and fireworks are both explosive with a simple spark. The proprietor of this fireworks tent actually has a little pup tent set up inside where he sleeps at night. You can buy anything from firecrackers to large mortars. Boxed sets are arranged on most of the shelves offering a wide variety of bangs for the buck. A bus stopped, dropping off passengers. They narrowly avoided getting hit by oncoming traffic as they crossed Colonial. A busted strip mall sign was naked allowing the wind to blow through the rusty frame.

On New Year’s Eve, Zorro my pet cockatoo raised his crest in surprise and concern every time a rocket blast echoed down our suburban street. New Year’s Eve isn’t his favorite holiday.  I sat watching a Twilight Zone marathon until minutes before midnight and then I switched the channel to watch the ball drop in Times Square. Years ago I was in that crowd with friends, and we ripped up our Playbill programs from the play we had just seen, creating confetti. In downtown Orlando, a beach ball sized ball was suspended from a flag pole above Latitudes bar. Illuminated with orange Christmas lights, it didn’t pack quite the same punch as the Times Square ball.