New Years Eve at our home in Hawaii
Aloha.
Last evening, December 31st, my husband, daughter and I set about preparing for our traditional New Year’s Eve Celebration. At dusk, my husband brought the comfy chairs we got from our friends out onto the driveway, while our daughter got the fire works carefully laid out on the back of the truck bed. She had the hand held fire starter ready to use to set them all off preparing to light them as soon as it got dark. I sat down to watch the show and was covering up to keep from being bitten by mosquitos. My husband was all excited for the display to start as all of us were. Our daughter took the first cone shaped fire incinerary and ceremoniously set it down in the middle of the driveway, clicking the fire starter. With flame ignited she lit it and carefully backed away. We watched in anticipation as the flame flickered waiting for it to burst into a display of light, crackles and pops…. waiting….waiting…waiting as the glow sadly continued to dwindle. Nothing. It fizzled out. Our daughter slowly walked up to it and tried to ignite it again… nothing. The same pattern continued for the next 2 cones… same thing. Dudes! Not accepting defeat, Our daughter handed me a sparkler and lit the end. It too burned downed to the good part and fizzled. Mind you this is probably the first year we were out there to celebrate and it DIDN’T RAIN.
Thinking we needed a better way to light the fire works the two of them came up with a brilliant plan - a blow torch. My husband dragged out the propane tank so that he could use it. Are you getting the picture yet? Meanwhile, Our daughter has a thumb size spinner she is lighting up with success, except she was too close and wearing sandals so started running in circles away from it while it chased her with sparks, lights, popping noises and putting on a great show for such a little bit of a cracker while she quickly ran to stand behind me and my chair. By now my husband finally has the blow torch going with 2-3 feet of flame arching across the drive way in his attempt to light the first 3 dudes.
Not to be outdone our daughter is now throwing those little noise pops down onto the driveway with their wee flash and pops… and lit a smoke bomb. Realizing all the smoke was headed my direction she jumped into the mist of it doing some type of crazy dance jumping up and own waving arms and legs attempting to redirect the smoke so that I’m not enveloped in the stinky smoky mass.
My husband, holding the flame thrower was still attempting light the 3 dudes with little success… not to go down in defeat he kept creeping closer and closer to the targets, while increasing the flame’s arch in his attempt to set the dudes off. By this point he is almost on top of them giving them all he’s got when suddenly the force of the flame topples them. They fall over onto their sides with the exterior bursting into pathetic flames.. no flash, bang, ooo, ahhh or pop. In fact, the blow torch put on the better show.
Our daughter ended the evenings celebratory entertainment lighting a few more spinners that lit up the driveway popping, sparking, spinning along while letting her dad know he bought her “crap” fireworks. It was the $12.50 set. All in all we had a good laugh and promised to find something a bit better for the next time.
HAPPY NEW YEAR!
WITH MUCH LOVE AND ALOHA,
Carol
