I have to admit, I was bored and rather lazy and thought twice about walking towards the river to catch the fireworks for a change. But it was 8.45pm and I had some 15 minutes to get my act together and head down. And I am so glad I did, for more reasons than simply passing the time to catch fireworks.
When I arrived I was honestly surprised by the turnout at the river. 125th street is pretty damn far away from where the fireworks were actually taking place, so not only would one loose on the size of the display, but you would loose the sound of the explosions, which would make for half the experience. I thought that I would be one of a few huddled groups of people and couples and possibly a few families who decided to head out to "see what they could see" or have "something different for the kids". As it turned out, there had to have been well more than a thousand people there, and I'm pretty sure I'm underestimating this. With implacable organization, there were even safety barricades all around and on the jetties, with police and firefighters for crowd control. All this for a 20 minute spectacle that was happening some 6 miles away! There were even people on the fly-over of the West Side Highway over looking the park waiting to catch a glimpse of the show.
Note, that where we were, is in no way a tourist attraction. The mass majority of the people that were there, either lived in the area or were visiting friends and family in the area. With all our economic problems and anxieties, the fact that so many people came out here to see it and to celebrate the 4th, I am duly humbled by the American people and I am so glad I got off my ass, for this has given me yet another reason to love New York.
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