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- May 22, 2018
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Happy Independence Day to my SAF friends! 
We’re blessed to live in this great country. And fortunate for those who have committed to defend it.
In our county (a.k.a. People’s Republic of _____) fireworks shows are verboten because of the fire hazard. Got me thinking of the most memorable fireworks shows I’ve seen. Ironically only one took place on July 4th. My top three:
1) Bastille Day in Paris. I was there for work. Had dinner near the Seine, on the right bank. Afterward, stood among a heaving crowd, with a view of the upper half of Le Tour Eiffel. The fireworks exploded just beyond the tower, making for a spectacular show. Oohs and ahs sound the same in French. Though I did hear quite a few people exclaim, “Ooh la la.”
2) Above Lake Geneva. We once lived abroad, on the shores of what is otherwise known as Lac Leman. On National Day, we walked the 500 meters from our flat to a hilltop museum, where we sat on stone steps overlooking the lake, with the Alps rising across the water. The fireworks were shot from an offshore barge. The Swiss are taciturn people. But not that night.
3) Fourth of July at Antietam. DW was not yet DW — it was the early stages of our courtship. We drove into the mountains of Maryland, where we paddled a canoe on Antietam Creek and picnicked on the shore. In the evening, we brought camp chairs and another picnic to the battlefield park, where the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra played a wonderful concert of American music. The final was, of course, “Stars and Stripes Forever” — its ending punctuated by the start of a fireworks show. The history of that setting — the single bloodiest day in American history — was a poignant reminder that our freedom was and is hard won. God bless America.
What’s your favorite fireworks memory?
We’re blessed to live in this great country. And fortunate for those who have committed to defend it.In our county (a.k.a. People’s Republic of _____) fireworks shows are verboten because of the fire hazard. Got me thinking of the most memorable fireworks shows I’ve seen. Ironically only one took place on July 4th. My top three:
1) Bastille Day in Paris. I was there for work. Had dinner near the Seine, on the right bank. Afterward, stood among a heaving crowd, with a view of the upper half of Le Tour Eiffel. The fireworks exploded just beyond the tower, making for a spectacular show. Oohs and ahs sound the same in French. Though I did hear quite a few people exclaim, “Ooh la la.”
2) Above Lake Geneva. We once lived abroad, on the shores of what is otherwise known as Lac Leman. On National Day, we walked the 500 meters from our flat to a hilltop museum, where we sat on stone steps overlooking the lake, with the Alps rising across the water. The fireworks were shot from an offshore barge. The Swiss are taciturn people. But not that night.
3) Fourth of July at Antietam. DW was not yet DW — it was the early stages of our courtship. We drove into the mountains of Maryland, where we paddled a canoe on Antietam Creek and picnicked on the shore. In the evening, we brought camp chairs and another picnic to the battlefield park, where the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra played a wonderful concert of American music. The final was, of course, “Stars and Stripes Forever” — its ending punctuated by the start of a fireworks show. The history of that setting — the single bloodiest day in American history — was a poignant reminder that our freedom was and is hard won. God bless America.
What’s your favorite fireworks memory?
