It\u2019s the Friday of the first week of class, which means LogJam!, free food, and fireworks. Five of my\u00a0friends and I\u2014despite having eaten the free food\u2014have just eaten at our favorite Japanese restaurant on Sixth Avenue (Bento Teriyaki & Sushi). Dusk has begun to mask the sky, and anticipation is in the air; the fireworks are starting soon.<\/p>\n
\u201cCome on,\u201d a friend says. \u201cWe don\u2019t want to miss the fireworks.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s not supposed to start until nine,\u201d I say. \u201cWe have plenty of time.\u201d<\/p>\n
A sizzling crack splits the sky. We can see the burst of light but cannot see its fiery shower.<\/p>\n
Everyone stares at each other. This wasn\u2019t supposed to happen. It isn\u2019t nine yet.<\/p>\n
Our feet slap the pavement as we run back incautiously in the middle of the road. We\u00a0split into pairs. I find myself with M. The two fastest have already crossed the street and the others seem to have resigned themselves to be together\u2014they linger behind.<\/p>\n
\u201cCome on,\u201d M says.<\/p>\n
We run across the street and onto the grassy slope behind Weyerhaeuser. The fireworks have increased in volume. Our view of the explosions is blocked by the tower of the building.<\/p>\n
\u201cHurry up!\u201d she says. \u201cTake pictures for me, my phone\u2019s dead.\u201d<\/p>\n
It\u2019s a command, so I whip out my phone as we scramble up the dewy hill. The explosions are louder, nearer, brighter.<\/p>\n
We round the corner of Weyerhaeuser building, and there it is\u2014a fountain of red. Yellow takes its place, replaced thereafter by three bursts of orange. That is the picture I capture\u2014the only one M approves of.<\/p>\n
We stand at the crest of the hill, the canisters shooting up out of plumes of colored smoke. We watch as the fireworks light the night.<\/p>\n
I see\u00a0the lights explode out of darkness, then trickling, fade away. I think about how fleeting\u00a0the displays are.<\/p>\n
There are moments of great beauty in life. We like to remember them, so we take pictures of them, write stories about them.<\/p>\n
As I looked at the picture I\u2019d taken after the stillness of the night returned, I realized that I had captured one such moment. And I realized how important it was to record those fleeting instances. So that come what may, I might always look back and know a\u00a0moment\u2019s exploding beauty.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s the Friday of the first week of class, which means LogJam!, free food, and fireworks. Five of my\u00a0friends and I\u2014despite having eaten the free food\u2014have just eaten at our favorite Japanese restaurant on Sixth Avenue (Bento Teriyaki & Sushi). … Continue reading ![\"The](\"http:\/\/blogs.pugetsound.edu\/whatwedo\/files\/2014\/10\/IMG_2531.jpg\")
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