Fireworks and People

I walked down to Seattle's new sculpture park to see the fireworks for the 4th.

Like most major fireworks displays, this one it set to music. Of course the only way to hear the music is to listen to the radio while watching a the fireworks. So most of the thousands of people in the park watched the fireworks to only the din of the crowd.

The fireworks started about 10 minutes late (perhaps to give the radio station more commercial time). And when the explosives finally launched into the sky and burst over the water, the crowd ooh'ed and ahh'ed. For five minutes. Then they got bored.

Fireworks are pretty, but without the music, there is no narrative to the show.

People started looking around sheepishly to see what everyone else was doing. They turned from the sky to peek at their neighbors, and their eyes darted over thousands of people still feigning interest in the sky. It was as if they felt guilty for not being completely captivated by the scenes playing out above.

After ten minutes, children became restless. Younger kids and dogs became distressed over the ever present booms. After 12 minutes people started leaving early to beat the traffic.

I stayed through to the end. It was a highly entertaining show. And the fireworks were cool, too.