A big concert is being held in the plaza of the student center as I write this. I tell you, you haven't heard anything until you hear a military band perform Carly Simon's "You're So Vain."

Yesterday Richard, Christina, and I went to see the fireworks in Bay Village. It was very iffy as to our going at first. Huge dark thunderheads threatened us from above and there was an ominous low rumbling coming from the north. However, at his parents' assurance, we decided to go.

Richard parked far away to avoid the heavy traffic. The first fat drops of rain pelted our heads as we began our trek to the fireworks. The rain was sporadic, which meant we occassionally had to shield ourselves with blankets and duck under a tree. We eventually made it there, though by that time my hair was one big fluff ball.

We thought we had arrived just on time, but we were actually over an hour early. We staked a prime piece of real estate and spread the blankets over the wet ground. I can't stand being wet! After getting rained on and having water soak through my jeans I was really beginning to be miserable. However, I decided to suck it up and not complain. At least I had Richard and Christina to talk to.

The fireworks were very late in coming, but very pretty. My favorites were the kind that exploded and branched off into other smaller explosions. It was really funny to listen to the kids talk (yell is more like it) about the fireworks. It bought smiles to our faces to hear how excited they were.

We were able to avoid traffic on the way in, but this was unfortunately not so on the way out. Bumpers were our only scenery for a good many miles. Sadly, Richard is not known for his patience; especially when he's in a big powerful machine. He grumbled, testily played with the stick shift, and stuck his head out the window to see what was going on. At one point he swung onto a street so fast that all I could see was the license plate of the van in front of us speed toward the windshield at 60 mph. I let out an involuntary scream and was about to assume the crash position. Richard looked at me like I was a big weirdo as he slammed on the brakes just in time. It was then that I began to understand why young males have high insurance rates. Christina only glanced up drowsily from the back seat.

The rest of the ride home was sheer terror as Richard ripped down dark country roads at breakneck speeds. My stomach lurched as I thought of some deer mindlessly wandering onto the road, causing the end of us all. Worse yet, what if there was a child? These were residential areas. I grasped my seat and prayed.

When we finally screeched into Richard's parents' driveway, I couldn't wait to get out. I wanted to kiss the ground and praise God for preserving us, but I thought that might look a little strange. Instead, I asked if I could use his bathroom, being that I almost literally had the crap scared out of me. I walked towards the house and past the garage which, incidentally, stores a large drawer chock full of aging fireworks of all kinds. Heaven forbid even the smallest house fire from occuring at that residence. It would be the most colorful destruction of a city block ever witnessed.

Finally, I said goodbye to my friends and travelled back to the east side at a much more reasonable speed. It had been a pleasant night. I hung out with my friends, enjoyed some fireworks, and saw my life flash before my eyes. Who could ask for anything more?