Small Business Saturday

I can’t believe it’s already December. This year has gone by surprisingly fast. The first snow has already come in Maine, but so far there is no accumulation. However, there have been some very cold days. 

Augusta started the holiday season with a bang featuring holiday fireworks. I hadn’t had time to make it to a fireworks display all year, and they are usually something I like forward to during the summer. So after seeing an ad for the display, I resolved to make it to one before the year ends. 

The wind from the morning had died down leaving the weather feeling tolerable for standing in the cold. Night had fallen quickly and a Cheshire Cat moon was grinning in the sky over the river. Lights from buildings across the street were reflected as well. It wasn’t hard to find a good spot. The crowd was much smaller than it would have been during warmer months. I wondered if they were still busy shopping for Shop Small Saturday or if the cold was keeping everyone inside. 

I wasn’t expecting the fireworks to start for another ten minutes. Suddenly I jumped at the sound of exploding lights. The sky lit up with a beautiful array of colors. Bright reds, purples, greens, and oranges filled the dark night. They ascended high above the surrounding leafless trees and whistled on their way back down, followed in quick succession by different colors. A variety of patterns illuminated the night sky, expanding and then disappearing. A thick haze started to form, rising into the sky with the display of bright colors. Every time they exploded, the smoke lit up revealing the black silhouettes of bare tree branches reaching into the sky. 

The fireworks increased in intensity as we reached the grand finale. Multiple pyrotechnics went off at a time filling the sky with a variety of shapes and colors. The waterfront echoes with the loud boom of the explosions.

Then it was over. My face was getting cold even without the wind. I walked with the crowd away from the waterfront back to the car. The holiday season is just beginning though, and soon a New Year will bring all new possibilities.