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Boom. Ooh.
Pow. Aah.
Crackle. Wow.
Those are the sounds of a fireworks show, more or less.
My wife and I went to the Fourth of July celebration last week for the first time since we moved to Burleson. The first few years we lived here, we went out of town for the Fourth and missed the activities. Last year, we thought we’d go watch the fireworks and skip the rest. Bad idea. You have to arrive early to keep from having to park halfway to Alvarado on I-35W.
So this year we packed up our folding chairs and headed for the Hidden Creek complex, staked out a spot and had a fine time listening to classic Motown music and watching a pretty decent fireworks show.
I recorded snippets of the fireworks, one of which you can find a link to on our Web site, www.burlesoncrowley.com, and posted them on YouTube. By the next time I checked the site, a couple of people had left comments. One of them liked the fireworks well enough but thought Burleson needed to kick it up a notch — no, I won’t say “bam,” but it would be appropriate in the context — and make the show longer.
I respectfully disagree. The show lasts about 20 minutes, and for my money, it’s a better show than the one I used to attend when I lived in the Abilene area, which was about the same length. This one’s much better choreographed, if that’s the right word, and the music’s much better.
Abilene used to end its show with the Kate Smith version of “God Bless America.” Forgive me if Smith is one of your favorites, but that version hurts my ears.
The Fourth of July celebration comes at the end of a five-week summer concert series the city puts on. I don’t know that funding is in anyway linked, but I suspect we could have a bigger, better fireworks display if we didn’t have the concerts. But where’s the fun in that?
We look forward to the concert series each year. For my money, it’s a great way to top off the work week. You take your lawn chair downtown, sit in the street, maybe patronize one of the great restaurants in the vicinity, relax and have a good time listening and singing along. I’d hate to give that up for a few minutes more fireworks.
Besides, not quite six months later, I can have another fireworks fix at the Christmas tree lighting. The low-level display the city puts on is spectacular.
The best thing about all these events? They’re free. And as my wife recently explained to a co-worker, you don’t even have to pay for parking. She was dumb-founded. No parking fee?
I realize my frame of reference may be ... oh let’s be honest, it is limited. Our fireworks may not rival those in D.C. Or New Yawk City, but the cheers and applause at the end of the show are heartfelt expressions of joy from those of us who had a heckuva good time, courtesy of the city we call home.
Though I may not speak for everyone, I’m sure I do for some when I says thanks to the city council, the parks and recreation folks and the sponsors for the concerts, the fun and the fireworks. They’re all part of the reason we call Burleson “home.”
Michael O’Connor can be reached at editor@trcle.com.
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