Burnt Popcorn
We are n drawn outside by the realization that we will not be able to sleep with all the pyrotechnic festivities going on directly behind our home.
“I bet they don’t do this at University Circle” proclaims my resident anti-Cleveland and pro leaving 153rd street expert Brandon.
One house has torches in the yard and a variety of things placed on the sidewalk directly in front of the house. I do not look closer although I do wonder why they would put so many random objects on the sidewalk at night. Their dog or cat is assumed missing, and Selena and her male companion go looking for it. Soon the matriarch of the house discovers that the animal has been under something and call them back to the house,
“What it is gonna be like when we finally move out of Cleveland?” ask Brandon hoping to speak his destiny into existence. “Cleveland sucks that is a fact. These people spent more on fireworks than the city spends fixing potholes You can’t bring a war veteran here.”
I never thought about that, but I guess you’re right. Of course, not all of them have PTSD.
Brandon and I watch the fireworks from the porch. They explode from all angles I can see some reflected in the upstairs windows of the house across the street, some are behind it and slightly to the right others are far left perhaps a few streets over some are directly behind the house across the street. The burst directly behind the house across the street were mostly purple and white. a few yards down the street orange and white projectiles that threatened to light the porch on fire. Behind my house and to the left I saw a lot of red, green, white, and orange. All are loud but the ones directly behind my house that I can see by reflection are the most thunderous. The smell was like burnt popcorn.
At some point it becomes clear that the random junk on the sidewalk of my almost next-door neighbor’s house is in fact fireworks and lots of them. This will go on until at least 2 am, Some of the explosions shake the house without me seeing where they are coming from.
A woman screams “that almost hit me!”
Cars go by cautiously. Perhaps my neighbor is a professional. He lights several in a row with a sparkler producing a very impressive show. Despite the excitement we all have out devices, Brandon is finding somewhere to escape to and lamenting that each location has its weaknesses. Texas is too hot California is to expensive Florida and Arizona are too racist and hot/humid. He took a break from geographical research to take a few photos too, He is a good photographer
Alex was reading about a sadistic dentist and claiming that Kanye West was running for president. The fireworks had been going on for a month or a week, it seemed like a month to me. It was a welcome distraction from the neighbors arguing.
The second-floor guy complained loudly about the third-floor couples’ loud arguments. Even if we couldn’t move out of Cleveland maybe out of this house although I had stopped thinking that the girl on the second floor was a prostitute.so what if her friend answers the door completely nude. Just because that guy with the dreads said she was selling ass doesn’t mean anything. How can you trust the word of a man who comes to someone’s house demanding a bed without even having a vehicle to transport it in. Ok so the guy she lives with has a fancy car. A lot of folks around here have fancy cars.
The third-floor couple decided to watch the festivities from a friend’s car. They look so cute together no one would ever guess that a few weeks ago he broke a window putting her out.
The house across the street with the two American flags on it had some very appreciative guest who applauded every time my neighbor created an especially impressive display. I was happy to learn that the guy across the street wasn’t as lonely as he pretended to be.
We decided to go to bed around midnight, but it was no use. The rumbling continued long after we grew tired of watching beautiful bombs burst in the air. The crazy part about it is fireworks are supposed to be illegal. I can only assume that there is too much real crime over the holiday weekend for anyone to worry about the thousands of unauthorized pyro techniques shows occurring all over the city.