July 4th
My Fourth of July was very, surreal. Surreal is not the correct word, but its the first one that comes to mind. The Holiday of Fireworks began day began with getting firework in Inglewood. I borrowed my Dad's car since I need the practice, so this Fourth of July, I would be driving everywhere. This included driving to Hacienda Heights to a BBQ with great food and company, Hacienda is about half way between Los Angeles and San Diego.
Skipping ahead to the weird part of the night, it was on my drive home. Leaving the BBQ, the sun had set hours ago, and complete darkness fell over the sky. Even the stars were visible as I drove away; Fireworks were just starting to be displayed by all the good residents of the city, especially since Fire Works are illegal in Hacienda Heights. As I accelerated to match the speed of the cars on the Freeway-yes, I was still driving, and yes, on the free way at night-I saw the first strange sight of the night. As I drove towards Los Angeles, my eyes meet the ever common, eternal symbol of California's good weather, the Palm Tree, on fire.
The horizon was filled with the usual darkness of night, along with the lights of a metropolitan city, but another object shared the scene. The warm, orange glow of the palm tree, perfectly shaped, consumed completely in flames, right next to the free-way. The Palm Tree created a flawless silhouette against the night sky, every branch, and fawn of the palm tree illuminated by the fire which was started by perhaps something as small as a sparkler.
I tried to quickly shake the image from my head, and concentrate on driving, I did not feel like crashing while two of my close friends were in the car. Almost as if my driving abilities were being tested that night, the scene only became more, unusual to me. The small fireworks set off by each house hold only continued to fill the sky. Driving down the free way, it felt like walking in a parade of sorts, to my left, right, and straight ahead, small fire works, i.e. bottle rocks, and occasionally something bigger, seemed to ignite almost rhythmically. This mixed with the cold wind, brought on by the window I rolled down, and the loud music I cant live without, the entire scene became, surreal. Such an odd combinations of events, driving in the Mercedes 70+ MPH on the free way at night, with hypnotic relaxing music playing, all the while fire works going off all around me.
That was my 4th, a nice day all in all. Then again, any day with fireworks is a good day.
Skipping ahead to the weird part of the night, it was on my drive home. Leaving the BBQ, the sun had set hours ago, and complete darkness fell over the sky. Even the stars were visible as I drove away; Fireworks were just starting to be displayed by all the good residents of the city, especially since Fire Works are illegal in Hacienda Heights. As I accelerated to match the speed of the cars on the Freeway-yes, I was still driving, and yes, on the free way at night-I saw the first strange sight of the night. As I drove towards Los Angeles, my eyes meet the ever common, eternal symbol of California's good weather, the Palm Tree, on fire.
The horizon was filled with the usual darkness of night, along with the lights of a metropolitan city, but another object shared the scene. The warm, orange glow of the palm tree, perfectly shaped, consumed completely in flames, right next to the free-way. The Palm Tree created a flawless silhouette against the night sky, every branch, and fawn of the palm tree illuminated by the fire which was started by perhaps something as small as a sparkler.
I tried to quickly shake the image from my head, and concentrate on driving, I did not feel like crashing while two of my close friends were in the car. Almost as if my driving abilities were being tested that night, the scene only became more, unusual to me. The small fireworks set off by each house hold only continued to fill the sky. Driving down the free way, it felt like walking in a parade of sorts, to my left, right, and straight ahead, small fire works, i.e. bottle rocks, and occasionally something bigger, seemed to ignite almost rhythmically. This mixed with the cold wind, brought on by the window I rolled down, and the loud music I cant live without, the entire scene became, surreal. Such an odd combinations of events, driving in the Mercedes 70+ MPH on the free way at night, with hypnotic relaxing music playing, all the while fire works going off all around me.
That was my 4th, a nice day all in all. Then again, any day with fireworks is a good day.