Stars, Stripes, and Rainbows

As a kid, I used to call fireworks "yummy balloons." All these years later, I think the term still applies- it's full of the wonder and nostalgia that fireworks continue to have on people year after year, or at least on me. And as I joked to my boyfriend, there's something about explosives that just makes me feel patriotic. After watching the Hollywood Bowl fireworks through the distance and a hazy night sky from my apartment balcony last year, this year I got to see them up close. The Bowl orchestra and Hall & Oates performed on a gorgeous night; the type of night that makes it feel so luxurious to be sipping on wine and picnicking surrounded by greenery under a pink sunset. What better environment to muse on how lucky we are to be Americans, for all our country's faults and current shortcomings?