With Liberty And Color For All!

Photo courtesy of www.capitalconcerts.org

It is a memory I’ll never forget and as it was happening, I wished that ALL of my fellow Americans would one day experience the awe-inspiring Fourth of July fireworks display in Washington DC.

It was 1996, an election year (Clinton/Dole). I was 20 years old and an intern in our nation’s capital that summer (it was a busy summer). On the Fourth of July, a couple of my fellow interns and I took the Metro to the Mall for the festivities that were being hosted that evening. Our mission was to watch the fireworks from the Capitol steps.

The Mall was packed by dusk and it was hot and muggy. Tourists from all walks of life had flooded the scene for the various concerts, food and of course, fireworks. Veterans sported their honorable uniforms and citizens waved their flags with pride. As a first timer to the “Independence Day in DC” experience and a big fan of the USA, I was just glad to be there.

Whistles and cheers roared from the crowd in the Mall as one, two and three bursts of color appeared in the night sky, just over the ivory white buildings and monuments that proudly set the stage. The fireworks display became increasingly more elaborate and breathtaking when, suddenly, a hush fell over the crowd. As “America the Beautiful” and our National Anthem echoed across the Mall, you could hear a pin drop as our tear-filled eyes focused on the amazing spectacle overhead.

It was a night and an American experience I’ll never forget and is the inspiration for this month’s color story.