Fireworks at the duck pond

I think I used to enjoy fireworks as much as the next guy, but that all changed for me about ten years ago.

The guard band had been asked to play at Sugarhouse Park in SLC before the Utah Symphony. The Utah Symphony was slated to play up until the fireworks display, so we pretty much played for the 90,000+ people who showed up early.

Apparently the year before, the band had played and folks had their cars blocked in by the crowd. People weren't able to leave until after one in the morning. We arranged that year to have the SLCPD Motor Squad escort the bus out of the park after we were finished playing.

So as the last stinger on the last Sousa march died awy, we hastily packed up our stuff and loaded the bus. The motor squad formed a tight wedge and we began our climb up the hill through the throngs of people.

By now the symphony had begun to play, and people were milling about. There really wasn't anywhere for people to be walking; folks were just walking to walk. It wasn't even dark enough yet to show off your $9 glow bracelet. So as the motors ride up the hill the bus driver gets a little bit behind and people start wandering in between the bus and the motorcycles. The bus driver gives a little toot of the horn which gets the attention of exactly nobody. Now we're in a pickle. The motors are disappearing, and we've come to a stop amongst people who are now resembling a raid of marabunta.

The bandsmen on the bus (having flashbacks to the 1:00 am departure time from the year before) start clammoring for the bus driver to catch up. The bus driver leans on the horn, but still none of the ants move. He then begins driving the bus gently pushing pedestrians in front of him. At this point a young lady walking with two of her friends turns in anger at the bump and gives the grill of the bus a little push. I had never before been gently hit by a bus, so I couldn't imagine what possessed her to assault a 1978 Bluebird. As she yelled, other people got angry that the bus had hit her. You could feel the crowd getting angry and focusing its attention on the bus.

I was beginning to see images of all of the riot footage of people tipping busses over, and apparently so did the bus driver. He began moving faster now, and continually honking the horn. As the bus increased in speed, people began to scatter. It didn't take long for us to get out of the horde and escape the park.

As I escaped this life-altering situation, I began to evaluate my enjoyment level at fireworks. I really do enjoy watching things explode. The noises, and colors, and smells are all great. Having rioters tip my bus over and then rip me limb-from-limb doesn't seem worth the experience. And really neither does sitting in traffic for 40 minutes for a 7 minute show.

I'll just sit in the Yans' back yard and watch from there thanks.



Here is my first attempt at some fireworks photography. I've learned that you really do need to pay attention to where the powerlines are.

Whoops