Vacation: Day Four

As I mentioned previously, my fourth day of vacation saw the coveted 3rd of July bash at our friends' acreage near Palmyra, NE. Middle of stinkin' nowhere. Live bands. Endless beer. Kick-ass fireworks. Friends. Family. Seriously, what else can a guy ask for in life? It was the epitome of a summer celebration, and it was another rockin' good time.

As for the fireworks, the show went very well, but we were unable to avoid another glitch similar to what we experienced during last Saturday's show. We had set up several "filler" cakes which were all being hand fired by our crew. They began the show, and the plan was for Chris to electronically fire a few of the bigger shells at various times while these fillers were being fired. As soon as Chris launched the very first shells, we completely lost power to the panel and had no way of firing anything electronically. Since all of the bigger items were wired for electronic fire, the loss of power severely crippled our show. We checked the connections from the battery to the panel, and they appeared strong. All indications were the battery had failed, but it seemed odd that we fired just once and then the battery died.

At any rate, it only took a few seconds for us to realize we had to stop the show, so I began screaming to the rest of the crew to cease fire while Chris hopped in his truck and tore off in search of another battery. I continued to fiddle with the panel in an attempt to dissect the problem while one of our crew members, who is an expert mechanic, ran up to help me. Chuck discovered the ground connection from the battery to the panel was loose, which was the source of the problem. We fixed the connection, and I was on the phone to Chris to beckon him back to the shoot site. He was quickly back to Ground Zero, and we restarted the show and had no problems the rest of the way. In terms of the fireworks and the design of the show, it was our best yet, no doubt about it. The finale was an amazing, breathtaking spectacle, and we were heavily applauded upon our return from the shoot site.

Still, our second issue in as many electronically fired shows left both Chris and I with a strong yearning to overcome the problems. Both of the glitches stemmed from electrical connections, and as we begin to seek out pyrotechnic contracts, it is imperative that we overcome these issues. Another learning experience, and a good one.

I was able to talk the band into singing happy birthday to Mandi after the clock turned to midnight, then we danced, laughed, talked, and enjoyed the bash for another couple of hours. It was another fantastic evening, and I am already looking forward to the next one. Check back soon as I will post a recap of yesterday's activities before too long. Peace.

P.S. I actually began writing this post yesterday, and saved it as a draft. The date at the top reflects when I began the post, not when I finished it. If you care. If you don't care, then nevermind. Okay, shutting up.