fireworks

As a fireworks lover, I’m sorry to see the end of the ultimate fireworks weekend of the year. Usually there are three big displays of fireworks planned for 4th of July weekend and holiday. Sunday night was a rain-out, so I only had two evenings of fireworks fun.

First and most obviously, there is the visual enjoyment. I was a lazy-bones this year and I only went up to the roof for the fireworks displays. If I had walked down to the river and watched from the bridge, I would have seen 100% of the fireworks. Because I was on the roof lazily reclining in a chaise lounge, I only saw the part of the fireworks that rose above the tall buildings. Even though I couldn’t see each and every explosion, I did get to see 100% of the smoke drift after the explosions. I like watching that part too, even though it’s not colorful.

I love the smell too. What the heck is that stuff? I don’t know if it’s the sulfur or some other part of the explosive, but I like it.

There’s a surprisingly fun part of fireworks that I didn’t fully appreciate until we moved downtown. Of course I’ve always like the “BANG” of fireworks, but when that “BANG” echos off the downtown buildings it’s really satisfying.

I thoroughly enjoyed two fireworks displays with my eyes, my nose, and my ears. I am happy to report that I didn’t taste any fireworks and no fireworks actually touched me. Ouch – either one of those things would hurt.

Lots of fun, Zero Dollars.

free fun

On my walk this morning, I noticed folks working hard to set up vendor booths and food trucks at The Arch. I’m looking forward to Fair Saint Louis at The Arch this weekend, but not because of the vendor booths and food trucks. I’m a purist – I’m excited about the air shows and the fireworks. More about that later, after the weekend.

So I thought, “I’m gonna have a lot of free fun this weekend – 5 air shows and 3 fireworks displays.”

And that made me think about last week, when I had a lot of free fun. It was Marine Week in Saint Louis. This is only the 3rd annual Marine Week. The previous 2 Marine Weeks were held in Boston and in Chicago. What I learned, in a nutshell: if there’s a future Marine Week near me, I’ll  run – not walk – to see it. I saw a lot of sophisticated military equipment, including opportunities to climb around on several helicopters, a few tanks, and some amphibious landing craft. John held scary looking weapons. Someone took his photo cradling some big gun – I bet you don’t even call it a gun. John says he wants that photo to be on the Org Chart at work. I saw a demonstration of Marine working dogs – that’s a euphemism for dogs who will rip your arm off if their trainers tell them to do so. There were 2 amazing things about the dogs – one was how tenaciously the dogs held onto “the suspect” in the demonstration and the other was how IMMEDIATELY the dogs released “the suspect” when the trainer spoke ONE word to the dogs. I saw/heard a Marine band from Albany, Georgia multiple times. That seems like a pretty nice/safe job for a Marine, except for being in the dress uniform all the time, no matter how hot it is. I saw a wonderful Closing Ceremony for Marine Week, with a tribute/recognition of Gold Star families and a terrific performance by the Silent Drill Platoon. Imagine cheerleaders with rifles and you’ve got a basic idea of the Silent Drill Platoon. But the very best part of Marine Week was an amphibious assault on The Arch. And I got to see it twice! The demonstration was a rescue scenario that called for: a reconnaissance Marine in the water with a no-signature breathing apparatus, Zodiac boats and Marines swimming to “the beach”, parachute jumping Marines, a Cobra helicopter, a Huey helicopter, a Sea Knight helicopter, a Fast Rope insertion/extraction team, a AV-8 Harrier jet, an Osprey tiltrotor aircraft, 2 amphibious landing craft, and 2 tanks. As if that wasn’t enough, there was a simulation of mid-air refueling with a big ol’ C-130 and a helicopter. It was the most fun I’ve had sitting down in quite a while! Despite my sunscreen precautions, I got a leeetle burned during the Friday amphibious assault. But it was such an amazing exhibition that I wanted to see it again with John on Saturday. It was definitely worth seeing twice. It was tremendously fun to watch this really impressive display of  Marine equipment and training. The young service men and women looked so exciting and inspiring – there is bound to be an uptick in recruitment.

haircut

I decided, abruptly, that my longish hair was not making me look like Helen Mirren. That would have been the only advantage of the length, but it just wasn’t paying off.

I had already cancelled the next appointment with my regular haircutter, because I committed to a new, conflicting  engagement at that same time. But I was not able to re-schedule the haircut with my regular stylist. A few days later, at my wit’s end, I decided to walk-in (literally) to a Great Clips. Fabulous, wonderful, can’t say enough good things about the place. And cheap. Amazingly cheap – my usual haircuts cost more than twice the amount of a G C haircut.  I don’t think my usual haircuts are more than twice as good as a G C haircut. New quandary – should I stop visiting my usual haircutter? And if so, should I tell her it’s all about the money? I’ll worry about that tomorrow.

Men don’t do this, so why do I do this? I don’t mean “get a haircut”, I mean, “obsess about the haircut.” Don’t men just choose a length of hair and keep doing it over and over and over? Don’t they usually just wash it and go? Of course there are some exceptions, like Paulie Walnuts, whose haircuts require more of a time commitment. Some elements of my current short haircut mania: Should it be a bit longer? Should there be more layers? What products would produce the results I desire? I can’t ask myself WWHD (What Would Helen Do), because Ms. Mirren doesn’t have this haircut.

Now a new opportunity presents itself. I could learn to cut my own hair. What a concept! Even cheaper than G C – Zero Dollars. A chance to learn something new.  A new project. Truth be told – I’m jonesing for a new project. The jobsearch project hasn’t produced results yet, the Kettlebell project hasn’t gotten off the ground, the cooking project is humming along just fine, the blogging project seems steady, the balcony vegetable project is starting soon. So yippee – a new project of haircutting.  I’ve done what I always do in the initial throes of enthusiasm – I requested a book from the library – “Haircutting for Dummies.” I’ve already advanced to step two of my new project, by requesting assistance from a knowledgeable person. My friend Dianne is coming for a visit and she is quite skilled at cutting her own hair. I’ve requested a tutorial during her visit.

no-cost/low-cost

Last night I called my dear friend Dianne in Georgia. It was cozy to have a phone visit, as we occasionally re-connect with each other that way. I marvel that long distance is FREE on cell phones. How delightful that I get a chance to chitchat with my gal pal at zero cost. Well, unless you count the basic price of the cell phone service. But still – the long distance itself is no extra charge. I remember when long distance on a land line was a big deal – expensive and precious. “The phone’s for you – it’s long distance!”

Full of warm thoughts after the phone call, I started reflecting about the enjoyable parts of my life that are no-cost or low-cost. I’m not including natural beauty like a sunset or a baby’s smile. For purposes of this particular musing, that’s all malarkey. I’m thinking about realio-trulio, distinct, moments of my life that I can experience and then remember later.

In addition to the cell phone long distance, there’s Skype. What a fabulous improvement on basic talking! I swear I felt like the Jetsons the first time I Skyped.

More visual stuff – watching TV on Hulu is free – just the psychic cost of sitting through the Hulu commercials. At least they’re mercifully brief.

How could I forget – the library! I use my neighborhood library frequently – multiple times a week. I don’t need to buy most books. I have a building right down the street where there are entire rooms full of books that I can use almost any time I want. A big shout out to Andrew Carnegie!

I’m a person who loves e-mail. It’s essentially free because it’s part of my building’s services. I haven’t paid for an ISP in this entire century. I appreciate the immediacy of e-mail, because I remember the painful process of actually writing a letter on paper, mailing it away, and waiting for a reply. And when you got the reply, it didn’t include your original message – how primitive. I’m happy that I was not on the Oregon Trail, cut off from correspondence with loved ones I left behind as I ventured west-ward.

Walking is free and I sure do enjoy a good walk. Walking for exercise, walking for transportation, walking for fun – it’s all good. It’s easy to take my feet for granted, but they bring me pleasure every day. Or more accurately, they take me to pleasure every day. It makes me wanna kiss my little piggies! I will sock them, shoe them, and take  them to the river now.