Angela Carter's A Souvenir of Japan

The beginning of this story made me think about how many memories I have in my past that relate to fireworks. For some reason fireworks have always been magical to me, even at this age. As a child my family used to spend the 4th of July up in Alpena and I remember sitting in some random parking lot watching the fireworks, going through all of the oohhs and ahhhs. At that age I'm not sure what was more fun for me, watching the sky light up or just being out in the late summer night. In this sense I can some what relate to the wife in this story when her husband gets bored and wants to go back to the city instead of watch the rest of the fireworks. My parents always wanted to pack up during the big grand final, they said it was so we could beat the traffic, but I can imagine that they were some what bored. I always wanted to stay until every last spark had died and the smoke was drifting away.

The summer before I started middle school we went down to Cincinnati for the 4th of July to visit my aunt, uncle, and cousins. The fireworks off the barges compared to the fireworks in Jackson is like comparing a candle to a forest fire. It was simply amazing. That whole night doesn't come to my mind very often but when it does, I remember it as the last time all 8 of us were together, happy and healthy. No girlfriends or boyfriends. No worries about ACT scores or that paper we should be writing.

In middle school and the early years of high school, the fireworks always meant doing down the the park and meeting up with all the other kids from the other schools. There were always fights and people drinking and tons of drama. Although my parents hated it when I went down there for the fireworks, I went every year, every time there were fireworks. Even then it seemed like there was some mysterious magic in the air and if you caught it just at the right time or place, all your dreams could come true. During those years, the thing I wanted the most was to have some special boy watch the fireworks with me like you see in romantic movies. Things never seemed to work out just right for me.

I can still remember the last time all of my high school friends were together in the same place, just us, no college friends, no awkward moments like we seem to run into some times now when we get back together. We were all sitting on the curb, just looking up at the sky, almost like we did when we were younger. No one said anything during the whole show. I think deep down we all knew this was our last great moment together.

Although I know that this story isn't about the fireworks, the beginning of this story struck a cord with me and it was nice to take a trip down memory lane. Who doesn't like to take that stroll every once in a while.