A Night to Remember

[Tim Herrlinger <tjherrlinger@ucdavis.edu>]

No, I'm not talking about an ocean liner sinking.  Last night was KaBoom!
A Bay Area radio station (KFOG) has an annual fireworks show (formerly
called Sky Concert) as part of a listener appreciation celebration.
Hundreds of thousands of people lined the San Francisco waterfront to
witness a remarkable pyrotechnics display synchronized to rock and roll.
We were treated to modern innovations showcasing incredible new firework
displays (featuring bursts of light that were linked together in clumps
that looked like falling arcs, multicolored smiley faces that appeared to
be exploding emoticons, etc.).  But of course the best part was the finale.
 After several different artists' music was featured, the sky was dark and
the air was quiet.  Suddenly the piano cords for Love Reign O'er Me rang
out and the sky ignited once again.  This time there were gold sparkles
that rained from the heavens and seemed to last forever.  It was as if the
entire hemisphere over the earth was aglow in shimmering embers.  As the
crescendo of The Who's song built, the intensity of the bursts increased.
Roger's scream accompanied the final explosions of everything they'd been
saving for the end.  After the last note, I turned to another Who fan, the
most special person in my life.  She and I just looked at each other, our
mouths wide open in awe of what we had witnessed.  It was certainly a night
to remember.

Tim Herrlinger