Fire and Rain

Tonight was the annual "Blow Stuff Up" party with all of my fellow employees from ShopKo.  Last year, Macedone (the "ringleader" of the show) bought a remote-controlled Hummer, which cost him about $50, and filled it with at least its worth in fireworks, and set it off while the rest of us ducked for cover.  When it was all over, we were left with a smoldering pile of plastic and streaks of white and red burned into our retinas for about ten minutes.

Would it be possible to top last year's Independence Day escapades?  I think we did.

We met tonight in the ShopKo parking lot, waiting for those who were working the closing shift to join us if they wanted to.  A few ominous sprinkles of rain splashed down on us, and black clouds surrounded us, and we started to wonder if our party was actually going to happen.  Within minutes, the rain started to pelt down, harder and harder.  A few people disappeared, choosing not to wait out the storm, while the rest of us retreated to the greenhouse in the Lawn & Garden center to remain as dry as possible.

We watched as the water began to rise, the drainage ducts in the parking lot being completely outmatched by the torrential downpour.  The rain came down in sheets as we watched our manager sprint from door to door, including the Lawn & Garden shed, making sure all of the locks were secure.  Eventually we decided that we would postpone the celebration until the following night, and everyone began to trickle out of the greenhouse and dart to their vehicles.

I realized that my dad had driven his motorcycle to work, and so I jumped in my car and drove over to RC Willey to give him a ride home.  However, when I was about a block away, I got a call from home saying that he had arrived home safely on the bike, despite the fact that he was completely drenched.

As I turned back, I called one of the party guests to see if they were still in the greenhouse waiting out the storm, only to find out that the rain was subsiding and the original plan was back on.  I returned to ShopKo and met up with the stragglers, and we soon left the premises to find the others, who had apparently left to procure a location to begin lighting off the fireworks.

They had found a secluded parking lot in which we could launch the pyrotechnics, and we stayed there until the firework curfew at eleven o'clock at night.  Despite the rain alternating between a drizzle and downpours, we had a great time, watching people light off a multitude of fireworks that cost a total of at least three hundred dollars.  It was super fun, and definitely outdid last year's adventure.  I wonder what next year will hold.