Maybe you liked the Macy's fireworks. I didn't!

OK. It’s midnight. The Fourth of July celebrations are over. I should be going to bed. But first I’ve gotta get this off my chest. 

I watched the Macy’s Fourth of July Fireworks spectacular tonight. At age 85, on a rainy night, I wasn’t about to go downtown to watch our local pyrotechnics display. 

I was bored. 

Those fireworks were exploding at full force from the very beginning! It reminded me of a male chorus from another city, in another state years ago, whose director insisted that these guys sing at full volume through the entire concert. No dynamics. No variety. By the end of the concert the voices of the singers were shot. Everything sounded alike. 

I can’t believe that I’m saying this, but the founder of the Grand Haven Coast Guard Festival, Chuck Bugielski, and I, had and have something in common. 

Chuck died years ago. He was a fireworks expert long before there were computers. He created fireworks shows each year for the festival in Grand Haven, in a day when firemen torched the rockets by hand. No computers. No electronics. And he was a master at it! Lots of noise, then something quiet and beautiful. Something loud and boisterous, then a more serene setting at the lower level. Then, at the end, a finale that was out of sight! 

As many of you know, I’m a musician. One of the things I enjoyed the most in my musical experiences was directing a male chorus. In my 21 years as the director of HIS MEN, I loved putting together a concert. Some fast music, some slow music, something without accompaniment, something with a soloist, something with a surprise. And then a finale that was sure to send people home with a smile on their face, and a message in their heart. 

The fireworks shows are polished now. No gaps because of a problem on the ground. No mishaps due to rockets misfiring. The computers have it all covered. But they don’t have the soul, they don’t have the emotion, that experts like Chuck Bugielski put into the annual Grand Haven performance. 

That Macy’s show may have been spectacular, but to this old man it was boring. Just like the concerts by that male chorus from another state. All peaks. No valleys. No serenity. No pauses. 

Chuck and I had the same ideas when it came to putting together a show. It’s gotta have feeling! 

His gig was fireworks. Mine was gospel music. 

I know...this has nothing to do with prisoners, but it has something to do with the founder of HFP. And he gets to speak his piece whenever he feels like it!

Now I’m going to bed.

 

 

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