the 4th

fireworks1
Originally uploaded by faithful nomad.

today ashlee and i got to the harbor and staked our claim at nine this morning. THIRTEEN HOURS LATER, the sky erupted in color. it was estimated that there were 300,000 people along the Charles River and we were a mere twenty people in the throes of it. i haven't seen a crowd like that since carnival in salvador. except here there wasn't any nakedness or drugs. we DID manage to have a rocking dance party.

so the day was spent guarding our two sheets of space - the cops tore down unpopulated tents (like yanked stakes out of the ground and laughed like big jerks). so i had nail polish, a good book, and plenty of sunshine. i literally spent the day alternately reading, napping, and painting my toes pink. gary lent me his copy of "Jack," a biography of CS Lewis, so that passed the time nicely.

everyone else showed up around seven, so ashlee and i got a break and found a starbucks down beacon street (coincidence that our house is on a beacon street. not the same one).

the fireworks were good. there was a ton of live music and people were very into it. bryan and his brother started using those glow sticks to reinact a light saber fight to the soundtrack of one of the songs, and seriously the entire field was watching. they were hilarious, like grunting and parrying just like a couple of old-fashioned jedi boys.

after the festivities, we saw the pack of people at the train and decided to get a beer instead. but since matty was with us (um, i forget all the time that kid is only 17), we just walked through boston commons and caught the T at the next stop over. home around two. bed soon. i'm exhausted and happy.