Boom!

I slept later than perhaps I should've, especially since I knew I'd working across town and needed to be there and on a conference call at 930am. It was near 620am by the time I was downstairs and engaged in exercise. Another cloudy start and a forecast calling for more on and off rain. What's worse, the heaviest rain forecasted for later that evening or during Red, White, & Boom.

I kept a close eye on the clock and walked away from my PC even before 7am so I would have plenty of time for meditation and a stretch. Headed out the door for a run around 715am. It was trash day, so I quickly drug our can to the curb. It wasn't even half full but it smelled bad. Not sure what was in it.

Setting out on my run, I remembered that it was Kidney Foundation Day, and I knew we had a lot of stuff we wanted to put out. Mindy and I talked about the night before. I reminded myself a few times during my run that I needed to wake Mindy and carry everything up and out as soon as I was back at home. I ran the full 4.1 miles.

Back at home, I headed immediately to our room to wake Mindy. She knew exactly what was to go and what was to stay. I guess I startled her out of a deep sleep, but she was real trooper and soon joined me downstairs and in the basement to prep the KF stuff. Wow! There was even more than I imagined. I think we carried up 7 trash bags full, along with a large picture in a glass frame. There was so much that we opted to put it in front of the garage door in lieu of the front stoop. I backed the Pilot to the curb as well so the KF truck could easily see it.

By the time we finished it was 820am. Suddenly, I felt a time pinch. There wasn't any way I could make and eat breakfast, pack my lunch, shower, and make it across town and be on a conference call by 930am. Instant stress came over me. Briefly tinkered with the idea of taking the call from home and then driving across town afterwards, but the more I considered it, the less attractive that option seemed. Instead, I opted to forego breakfast and hustled off for a shower.

I was out of the shower and dressed by 840am. Mindy was back in bed. I rushed back downstairs and threw together a quick lunch consisting of a banana, carrots and sugar peas, almonds, and a few chunks of cheese. Was ready to leave the house by 840am. I rushed back upstairs to say goodbye to Mindy. Was out the door by 845am.

Traffic flow was light, which is what I expected. A lot of people take July 3rd off for Red, White & Boom. I made it across town in about 17 minutes. I was quickly settled and logged onto the network. I joined the 930am call a couple minutes early. Call went well.

I didn't bother leaving for lunch hoping instead to end my work day somewhere close to 4pm. Dr March's office phoned late morning. It was Colleen, his long time office manager, calling to let me know the damage. Quoted about $100 more than agreed. Nope! I let her know that I wasn't paying that much. She then said that Ashley would have to pay the rest.

About an hour later I checked my phone again, which was in mute. I had three missed calls from Ashley. I called her back right away. She was in tears over the entire ordeal. Felt they took advantage of her, doing X-rays, exam, cleaning and, of course, the Zoom whitening. Said she didn't have the additional $100+ to cover the gap. She also shared that the whitening was a joke - a rip-off didn't work. Not sure if it was an emotional response or fact. Figured I would see for myself soon enough. If that's the case, I will call out Dr March.

I stayed busy all day long, making a sizable dent in my 'must complete' list before vacation. With Thursday being a holiday, I'd have just one more work day before vacation. I planned to work from home on Friday. Satisfied with all I'd accomplished, I packed up and left for home around 4pm. Given that it was Red, White & Boom, there wasn't any way I was going to risk taking 670 across town, Instead, I took 270 around. I called Mindy once safely merged onto the freeway.

She shared a little about her day and then discussed Boom logistics. We planned on meeting the McVey's at Northbank Park, along the Scioto River to watch the fireworks. They were heading down around 5pm. We figured to be about an hour behind them. We were taking the grand boys with us, and they were still at base - St. Mary Magdalene day care. Mindy asked if I wanted to simply pick them up there instead of waiting for Lindsey to bring them. No. I cherished the hour or so to relax at home before the chaos.

Chrissy was visiting with Mindy when I got home. Jake and Kayla were there too. We chatted for a while. Chrissy shared that Kenny was due home later that evening. He's been working out of town for the last month, coming home on weekends. While Chrissy was over visiting, a FedEx driver showed up with Jacob's new wakeboard. Cool! Glad to get it so soon.

Chrissy soon headed for home. Quietly, I asked Mindy if we would have room in the Pilot for Jake & Kayla should they want to join us for Red, White & Boom. Yep. We invited them to go along. They both celebrated gleefully. Rocky & Landon arrived shortly thereafter. Lindsey said she was heading for the grocery store. Planning ahead, Mindy picked up new shirts for the boys to wear to Boom. Quickly had them change into them. Our gear was already packed - a cooler and beach bag full of snacks. The chairs and blankets already in the Pilot. We left for the party around 6pm.

Darwin sent a text advising us to park near NW arena. Our intentions were to park where we did the last time we did Boom, and also where we parked a week prior for Comfest, which is on Michigan Avenue near APCO Windows facing north. It'll be about a mile walk, but leaving should be far easier. Our plan worked flawlessly. Found a spot very close to APCO. Mindy had everybody carry something. Jake and Jacob took turns with the Jimindy cooler, by far the heaviest thing. We walked east on Goodale where it turns into Vine St then a little further north to Neil Ave. South on Neil to Long St and Northbank Park. Mindy had to text Darwin.. We couldn't spot him on our won. We were within eyeshot, however, They had a sweet spot cordoned off.

We had six kids to mesh with the 4 McVey boys, but one can hardly count Jordan as a kid. He's in college. Darwin shared that they invited several other family members. They arrived in spurts over the next hour or so. Darwin also had a few CBC IPA in the cooler. I brought no beer, thinking I would buy one or two, thus doing my part in supporting the food fair community. We did, however, bring plenty of hand to mouth snacks and soft drinks. Right away, the grand kids, most notably Rocky, asked if we could buy cheap street fair toys. My response was No!

We had a good three hours to kill ahead of the fireworks. I didn't leave the compound, though most of the others did. Jacob, Jake and Lane were gone on and off most of the evening. They returned with two nice looking blondes. Rocky hung out some with Jake, who took him across the street fair to the US Army booth where they collected all sorts of neat prizes. All the boys ended up with personalized dog tags, key necklaces, back packs, and sun glasses. Jacob bought he and his pals 'snapback' ballcaps. Mindy & Connie both had their palms read at a tent next to our spot. Mindy threw in a little extra cash to have tarot cards read, too.

Meanwhile, the sky threatened rain all evening, but by and large the rain held off. It was about 945pm when we felt the evening's first sprinkles. Sponsored by WNCI radio, we could hear that they moved up the firework display by 5 minutes, presumably to beat coming rain. Rain we could deal with, lightning and thunder would be something else.

The show: The fireworks were cool, though not as colorful as I expected. They lasted longer than I remembered, and the grand finally left an indelible impression. I took numerous photos using various camera settings. By design, my Powershot S95 takes really good low light photos, which lends itself to firework photos that appear a bit over exposed. I experimented with the camera's own fireworks setting as well.

The show was over around 1020pm. Just like that the crowded streets become a mass exodus. There was a nearby Rumpke trash truck. We carried all the garbage we made to the back of the truck before hiking back to our car. We hugged and thanked the McVey's for hosting then headed off. It sprinkled on us for the entirety of our mile long walk back to the car. Landon had a hard time keeping up but managed. He told me he had to pee. I found him a private bush near the Pilot where he could relieve himself. We were back at the car near 11pm. And just as we hoped, the traffic home wasn't an issue at all. We took Michigan to 5th Ave. 5th Ave. to Riverside. Riverside to Trabue.

At home, I opted for more water in lieu of a beer. I was tired after working all day and then doing the Boom. The kids were tired and quickly settled for a night's sleep. We headed to bed still before midnight. Boom!!