Fourth of July

There's a very specific magic to the Fourth of July, and I'm convinced a big part of it is that for one night everybody quietly agrees to stand in a field and look up at the sky together.

The wait

Honestly half the fun is the waiting. You stake out a spot while it's still light out, you eat snacks that are objectively terrible for you, the air goes warm and a little sticky, and there's this slow buildup of anticipation as the sky finally darkens and everyone gets quiet without anyone having to ask.

Liftoff

Then the first one goes up, and the whole sky just cracks open into color. I never get tired of it, that low thud you feel in your chest a half-second before the boom actually reaches you, the way everybody instinctively goes "ohhh" at the big ones like we somehow rehearsed it together. I spent the entire show with my head tilted all the way back, completely happy, not thinking about a single other thing in the world.

Some traditions are simple on purpose. This is one of the good ones.