Tuesday, July 04, 2006

My Dad Loves Fireworks

He always has loved fireworks. Since before I existed. Case in point: these pictures. They are from way before I was born. Just look at the freaking wallpaper for Pete's sake. It looks like an M.C. Escher drawing.

Tonight he held out his hand to reveal a little bundle of green paper in his palm -- a little bundle that happened to have a fuse attached to it. When I said, "What's that?" he grinned through his beard and said, "That's loud." Then he walked outside.

Moments later he came back inside, empty handed, and said, "Just wait. In a little bit that's going to be loud."

"What'd you do? Light it and walk away?"

"I stuck a lit cigarette to the end of it, that way it'll go real slow."

Five minutes later a huge BOOM! resonated through the house. My car alarm started going off. He came back into the kitchen to get my keys so he could turn off my car alarm.

Later he calls us outside for another one. This one he sets on the driveway, clear of the phone line that runs to our house from the street, lights with his Zippo with the picture of the trout on it, and runs away before the sparks start shooting up. We stand in the driveway and admire the display -- so do the kids across the street, who can be heard squealing, "Oooohhhhh!! Fireworks!!"

Yep. My dad loves fireworks.

3 comments:

Shaun said...

Does Mr Williams still have all his fingers? Nice pictures!

Maria said...

Yes, he has all 10 of his very long fingers.

Anonymous said...

By the way, this wasn't way before you were born. You were in fact conceived in this house (perhaps even in that very kitchen with the gaudy wallpaper!!). We rented that house in Keego Harbor when we were first together from a very nice, very gay man--the wallpaper was his idea--conceiving you was mine :)That particular 4th saw Dan D.'s hiar cathc on fire trying to help Dad light off all those fireworks (it just burned a little bit). Oh yyes,we partied pretty hard in those days, but we looked good don't you think?