10 Best Walking Shoes For Hot Feet

Best Walking Shoes For Hot Feet in 2023

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Fourth of July Celebrations Continue in Milwaukee Despite Poor Weather

The day had been unstable, as far as the weather. There had been some rain in the afternoon, and a severe thunderstorm watch had been issued for Milwaukee county. But still, the lakefront was packed with people, tents, tarps, food vendors and people walking.

The day had been unstable, as far as the weather. There had been some rain in the afternoon, and a severe thunderstorm watch had been issued for Milwaukee county. But still, the lakefront was packed with people, tents, tarps, food vendors and people walking. And not just walking, there are bicycles, motorcycles, Rollerblades, scooters. No skateboarders, but I know Milwaukee cracked down on them in the county parks years ago and perhaps now they just stay away.

All this is in Veteran's Park, a grassy stretch from the Art Museum and War Memorial (Whose patio is packed) to McKinley Marina. Included within its borders is the Lagoon, and Milwaukee's famous Kite Shop. Every 3rd of July the area changes into a festival of smells and sounds, as off the shore they prepare for the city's fireworks.

Milwaukee's fireworks are always on the 3rd. It is a strange tradition, but allows the local parks and school to have their fireworks on the 4th, creating a smaller, more neighborly environment. I have not missed many of the 3rd fireworks in my life.

Still, this year was a little different. The radar shows a large patch of angry yellow and red, heading for the lakefront. Even as I pull up on my motorcycle, people are packing their things to leave. There is a rumor that the fireworks are going to be canceled. People think even if they aren't it might be better to watch them from home. I leave my chair with the bike, grab my umbrella, and head into the crowd.

There are times I really like crowds. This is one of those times. There are 3 boys, singing pop songs together as they walk along. They are not particularly good, but are clearly enjoying themselves. Kids play with sparklers, under the close eye of parents. A boy in a baseball uniform throws snappers at the ground on the paved lake walk, over and over. Men work on grills with piles of sauce and spices, and the smell makes my hungry. I call some friends who are supposed to meet me, but they have not arrived, and are no longer sure they are coming. Tornadoes to the west, they say. And they have children. I get a hot dog and cover it in ketchup. My friends has secured a spot earlier, but it has been overrun, and I decide to wander more. Later I get a text saying they are not coming at all. I can't blame them, but give them a hard time anyway.

The fireworks are supposed to go off at 9:25pm. At 8:30 I get back to my bike for my chair and cooler with drinks. I wonder if I should go too, and check the radar on my phone. A large blotch of yellow flicked with red is not only bearing down, but as the images load it starts to rain. I put on my wet weather gear, and decide to head towards the Command Post.

Veteran's Park, like all Milwaukee County Parks, are the domain of the County Sherriff, however for this event and a few others, they work very closely with the City Police and Fire Departments, as well as a local Ambulance service, Bell. Since they all have to work together, they have all their various supervisors together in one place, on one of the grassy medians near the southern end of the park. There are 3 large trailers, each labeled as Sherriff, Police or Fire. Bell just has an Ambulance parked there. The real secret is this year, all the supervisors are off site, in the Milwaukee County Command Center, on the north side of town. Still, there are people milling about, and I find a friend of a friend, who not only clues me in, but allows me into the command area.

They have not decided yet on the fireworks, and will decide when the start time arrives at 9:25. If there are fireworks at 9:25, then there will be fireworks, and if not then everyone gets to come back on the 4th. It is raining harder, and dark now. I loan my umbrella to someone who needs it more, telling them where to drop it later. People talk about the fireworks. Years ago, Milwaukee launched their fireworks off a barge, floating in the harbor. They would cancel for any sort of bad weather. But now there is a island off shore, connected to the Meier Festival grounds. Now they can set the fireworks off from there, and have pushed the weather boundaries. 5 years ago they set them off in pouring rain. Last year it was despite severe storms to the south. (Milwaukee stayed dry).

People are still leaving, and arriving, despite the rain. Someone asks me if they are still having the fireworks. I am in the command area now, and I guess expected to know these things. I tell him to plan on it. Better to have him stay and not see them, then leave and miss them. I think anyway.

At 9:15 I leave the command area and try to find a darker spot, where I can see all the way to the waterline. I settle for another median. More street lights than I would like, but not crowded. My chair is set up and I am sitting comfortably by 9:20, sipping at my bottle of water, despite the rain falling. A little river runs off the back of my hat, and I watch the water splash on my legs. 9:23, 9:24, the people next to me get up to leaving, folding the tarp they had been cowering under. I watch the clock on my phone turn to 9:25. Nothing. 9:26 brings another flash and roar of lightning, close enough I can't count the distance. 9:27. I sigh, looking for my cooler to put away my water. I don't have anything to do tomorrow, really, and can come back. There is no warning, no preamble, to the three rockets suddenly streaking across the sky, trailing white fire. Each explodes, and soon the night sky is filled with explosions and sound.

Milwaukee had brought in a new company for its fireworks this year, and they were much better than years past, taking advantage of the large, closed off area, they launched from 2 distinct areas off the lakefront. For the viewer, this meant fireworks appeared to the left and the right, far enough apart you actually had to turn your head to see them all. Even more, they also launched from the top of the First Star Building, behind the main viewing area. In all honestly, the two best places to see the show was in one of the commuter jets, headed south, far out over the lake on their way to Chicago or General Mitchel in Milwaukee, or from the Marina itself, looking south over the whole park.

I didn't have that vantage, and constantly turned my head. When the fireworks were going off, the sky was filled, seemingly in all directions. The rain lessened as the show went on, until not long after ten when the umbrella finally disappeared. What amazed me is, from those first 3 rockets, a steady stream of people continued to leave. Having lasted out the rain to the very start of why I would think they came, and they chose to flee. I saw an older couple, the man dragging a wheeled cart with chairs, cooler and blankets, followed by a woman who would stop every few feet and turn to watch, only to have to hurry as she was left behind.

The fireworks did not go without interruption. There were two pauses, the first more than 5 minutes that had me thinking they had cut the show short. But both times they continued to a final climax of color, and sounds that rolled back to us from the bluffs for several seconds after the sky turned dark. Not even the smoke, since the wind, now from due south, was quite strong.

A huge cheer roared up from the crowd, damp and cold they might be. It was truly a great show, and the only pity is having to wait a whole year for another.