FIREWORKS IN ISTANBUL

On December 31st of 2016 I went to celebrate New Year's Eve and watch a few fireworks in Hershey, PA. Earlier that day, a club filled with revelers was bombed in Istanbul, Turkey, leaving many dead and more injured.

I was sad about the bombing, but decided I wasn't going to let that get in the way of me celebrating the beginning of 2017.

I enjoyed my time in Hershey until the fireworks went off. The sounds of those fireworks reminded me of the first time I had ever heard them. The first time I learned about fireworks, the local stadium set them off and hadn't notified anyone, so when the fireworks went off everyone thought they were gun shots (we had also never heard gun shots, but lived in a high crime area so that seemed the most rational explanation for the sound). The "shooting" lasted for too long so someone finally decided to go outside and caught the last few bursts. They started yelling for all the neighbors to come out to see the fireworks. By the time I came out the firework show was over and it was hard to convince me that whatever had created all that smoke was really beautiful to watch.

The memory of that first exposure to fireworks really hit me hard when the 2016 fireworks were going off in Hershey, PA. I wondered how many folks thought as they were celebrating in Istanbul that the sounds were of bombs and not of fireworks. I hope that those who died did not suffer and simply went thinking fireworks were putting on a show for them as they were ringing in the new year. I think I prefer that to the thought of everyone assuming those sounds belong to shots or bombs, when they are sounds of fireworks.

I also wondered how many Americans realized the sound they were celebrating, the sound that was bringing them so much joy, was also bringing so much devastation not too far away. I marveled at the power of explosives how beautiful and terrifying they can be all at once.

So I welcomed 2017 grateful that explosives entertained me and very aware of the fact that not all explosions are entertaining. Let's show solidarity in 2017 to those who experience the terrifying sounds and consequences of explosives.

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