There Are Times
There are times
When you just go with it
This is a story
About one of those times
I just wrapped a movie over the weekend
It's a character study
Full of intrigue, infidelity and drama
Your typical Main Line day
This story
Puts the movie in short pants
I mean it's just too rich
And you'll need a scorecard to follow
It started with an invite
From a friend who showed up
With a mystery guest
Someone who up until then may or may not have really existed
But that was nothing compared to what followed
Because at the party was a couple
Exes who seemed to get along well
Who were contemplating a re-union
They had been split for 5 years and recently reconnected
Next to them was another friend
She was solo and had just ended a relationship
Here's where you'll need to follow closely
Her connection was that the wife of ex-guy and her husband
Had gone off together
Because at one time
They had all been best friends
A little switcheroo
Got it? Good, keep up
Well now solo girl is living with ex-girl
Who's maybe reuniting with ex-guy
And that leads me to the next step
You see all this was happening
At the home of another lovely
A home
I used to live in!
That’s right
A home I hadn't visited in over 20 years
Was hosting a party
That was blowing my mind
Much had changed in the house
Additions and updates
But some of the little touches
Were still there
So we have reuniting exes
Sharing space with a long ago friend
Who's past was closely connected
In a house where I once resided
And we're just getting started
As we laughed and dined on some real quality BBQ
We kept finding connections
You know who? Ha!
It's was grand
At some point a question about my car and it's color came up
Which seemed odd
But as I found out - we were getting special parking for the fireworks
Good by me
And sure enough when the time came
We piled into the car and headed off
And as predicted we rolled up to the main gate
And were waved through to a lot which held about a dozen cars
There was a county communications truck
Some kind of SWAT assault tank
And other official looking vehicles
A great little spot
We were close to the lawn
So it was a short walk
To part of the crowd
Already spread out with their blankets
Just then an unmarked police truck pulled up
You’re parked in the wrong lot
You’ll have to follow us
Too bad it seemed like a good location
With that we got back in the cars
And started to follow the police truck
But instead of heading right back toward the entrance
We went left
Up a hill
Past a couple more check points
And pulled into a vacant lot
Save for a fire truck on stand by
Park it here
But closer to the fire truck
Just in case
Just in case of what?
Out of the police truck
Stepped the township manager, the police chief and the deputy chief
It seems we were special guests
And we were going to be at ground zero for the show
As I looked around
I realized we were about 200 yards from the whole set up
A long line of boxes that held hundreds of fireworks shells
There wasn’t a person in sight – save for our gang and the fire crew
We chatted it up a bit
And had some laughs about this and that
Turns out some of our crew were friends with the township guys
And so they asked us to join them at mission control
So there we are
Out in a parking lot
No one in sight
AND BOOM
I mean my heart jumped through my eyes
The show was starting
And this was going to be like seeing the show
From inside a live volcano
Bang Boom Bang
Shells are streaking skyward
And their fiery embers are falling back to earth
On near and around us
As I stood in the open lot
I looked back
The township guys – the ones in the know
Were all standing under a tree – now that was smart!
It was quite a show
And we enjoyed it like it was a private event
Which I must say
Gave me a whole new perspective on fireworks
As the finale came to a close
We heard the cheers from the crowds
Unseen but definitely approving from across the way
We dusted ourselves off and wiped down our cars
Large chunks of paper canisters
Some charred from their trip skyward
Littered the ground around us
The fire department checked the building roofs and gave the all clear
We loaded up the cars
And followed everyone out
By the time we left
Most of the crowd had dispersed
New friends
Old friends
Exes and connections
A place from long ago
It was quite a night
Quite a show
Definitely a story
With a million different angles
And through it all
The lesson learned
Is that sometimes you just have to trust
And go with it