Crewing on a fireworks show is good fun. I got a huge rush from being so close to all the action. I think that may have been the most fun I've had standing up. When I commented on how good I thought the local show was every year I was told why and a long standing mystery came to a close for me. It's the home show for a big fireworks company so they do it at cost and toss in plenty of perks to boot. It's always baffled me how this tiny community could support such a respectable showcase of fireworks and now I know!
Tonight was way too much fun. For the cost of a day and the course, I'm going to seriously consider getting certified to do this type of pyromania as often as I can. Like the forces of acceleration, I've become addicted to the concussion effects of the shells being fired. What a gas to be in the midst of all that powder!
The crew were all hard core pyromaniacs that had been after seeing this 16" shell make the night bright. It was supposed to be fired at a convention of fireworks people earlier this year, but because of high wind conditions it couldn't be lit and Ray managed to snag it for the Vita show. The bureaucracy was a nightmare apparently because of the shear size of this explosive. To my mind it was all worth it. It sure did light up the sky in a beautiful way.
Like many drama productions though, there were some glitches behind the scenes and Ray showed why he's the man in charge by squeaking out past the hurdles to get almost everything lit in an orderly fashion. Some faulty cabling is suspected as being part of the stress Ray had to balance in getting the electrically discharged sequences to perform correctly. I was impressed with his quick thinking and was very glad I wasn't the one driving the show. Whether anyone noticed much outside of the crew or not, he earned his place as a leader tonight in anyones eyes. It made my insight into the game much more interesting, but I was very grateful not to be carrying any responsibilities when it was all said and done. I felt a lot like tits on a bull actually.
There were a couple of failures in the product they had bought for the show, but those were minor and expected in a show of that size as I understand it. Delayed fuses and electronic matches will be dancing in my dreams tonight. I like to blow things up. I always have. I wonder what my Mum remembers of that part of me in my youth. :D
