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Happy 4th Of July, Simi Valley!
My buddy, Jim, came in to town and called from the local Motel 6 to ask if I wanted to stop by and drink some free beer for the 4th of July with him and his crew.
Jim and I went to school together and he drives a truck for a moving company. He and his crew pack houses, move furniture, load and unload the trailer and they were all in a great mood and ready for the holiday so I rode over and we spent the rest of the day at the pool drinking beer and ogling women. I ordered a couple of pizzas and we all sat around on the deck to eat dinner.
I quit drinking beer before the pizzas were delivered, then after we ate I rode home and waited until dusk to ride over to Rancho Santa Susana Community Park to watch the fireworks but it was wall-to-wall people and cars. Everyone there was staring at the sky because they were sure the fireworks were about to start and they were going to miss something and they weren't watching what they were doing or where they were going so I decided that it was time to leave before I hit someone or got run over.
I spent the next fifteen minutes slowly filtering through a mile of police, blocked lanes, blocked streets, traffic lights, traffic barricades, traffic cones, pets, partying people, and holiday traffic to go one block to the next open street with a freeway entrance. As much fun as that was, I was really glad to be out of there so I had a blast getting on the freeway and riding back over to Motel 6 to see what the ladies, Jim and the crew were up to.
Motel 6 is about 4 1/2 miles west of Rancho Santa Susana Community Park and the fireworks.
It was too stuffy in the room and no one wanted to watch TV anyway so we went outside and stood around shooting the breeze (no beer for me) with some of the other people at the motel. While we were all talking about the best fireworks shows we'd ever seen and why we were skipping the show in town tonight there was a brilliant flash of light in the east and a loud explosion that rocked the ground, followed by a few more flashes of light and more rumbling.
I'd just left the park so it seemed a little early for the grand finale but none of us really thought anything about it at the time and just assumed there were some heavy-duty fireworks at the show we all weren't watching. A few minutes later a fire truck came screaming down the road but turned off its lights and siren when it got on the freeway eastbound at a high rate of speed. Again, no one thought anything of it and we figured some kids or homeowners had done something dumb with fireworks again this year but the call was canceled as the truck was en route.
We all had to get to bed so I rode home and when I turned on the TV I saw a breaking news blurb about a 4th of July celebration somewhere that had gone wrong so I waited for the story. When the story broke and the location came up "Live in Simi Valley" I was totally shocked. Yes, some of my friends and their families got hurt and was glad I decided to skip the show this year.
So, what did y'all do for the 4th of July this year?
Jim and I went to school together and he drives a truck for a moving company. He and his crew pack houses, move furniture, load and unload the trailer and they were all in a great mood and ready for the holiday so I rode over and we spent the rest of the day at the pool drinking beer and ogling women. I ordered a couple of pizzas and we all sat around on the deck to eat dinner.
I quit drinking beer before the pizzas were delivered, then after we ate I rode home and waited until dusk to ride over to Rancho Santa Susana Community Park to watch the fireworks but it was wall-to-wall people and cars. Everyone there was staring at the sky because they were sure the fireworks were about to start and they were going to miss something and they weren't watching what they were doing or where they were going so I decided that it was time to leave before I hit someone or got run over.
I spent the next fifteen minutes slowly filtering through a mile of police, blocked lanes, blocked streets, traffic lights, traffic barricades, traffic cones, pets, partying people, and holiday traffic to go one block to the next open street with a freeway entrance. As much fun as that was, I was really glad to be out of there so I had a blast getting on the freeway and riding back over to Motel 6 to see what the ladies, Jim and the crew were up to.
Motel 6 is about 4 1/2 miles west of Rancho Santa Susana Community Park and the fireworks.
It was too stuffy in the room and no one wanted to watch TV anyway so we went outside and stood around shooting the breeze (no beer for me) with some of the other people at the motel. While we were all talking about the best fireworks shows we'd ever seen and why we were skipping the show in town tonight there was a brilliant flash of light in the east and a loud explosion that rocked the ground, followed by a few more flashes of light and more rumbling.
I'd just left the park so it seemed a little early for the grand finale but none of us really thought anything about it at the time and just assumed there were some heavy-duty fireworks at the show we all weren't watching. A few minutes later a fire truck came screaming down the road but turned off its lights and siren when it got on the freeway eastbound at a high rate of speed. Again, no one thought anything of it and we figured some kids or homeowners had done something dumb with fireworks again this year but the call was canceled as the truck was en route.
We all had to get to bed so I rode home and when I turned on the TV I saw a breaking news blurb about a 4th of July celebration somewhere that had gone wrong so I waited for the story. When the story broke and the location came up "Live in Simi Valley" I was totally shocked. Yes, some of my friends and their families got hurt and was glad I decided to skip the show this year.
So, what did y'all do for the 4th of July this year?
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