It’s the Fourth of July weekend in the US. We have a three-day weekend, or some folks took Friday off to make it a four-day weekend. The Fourth falls on a Monday, making it perfect for people who want a long weekend, and if you’re in a job in which the first of the month is a pain in the keister, simply ask for Friday off and it won’t be a problem (at least not until you return to work on the fifth and find out how much backlog you have).
This is a weekend for cookouts, parades, and fireworks. Our modern technology, however, has also made a new option available for public enjoyment: drone shows. Drones can be computer coordinated to present a post-dusk light show in the sky. It’s a new idea and still in its early stages, but there are some great videos out there demonstrating the grandeur of such shows. They may well be the new fireworks for the new age.
Drone shows have a few benefits: no emissions from exploding powders, no loud bangs to damage hearing and frighten pets (which increase the number of runaway and lost animals every year), and a near zero chance of injury, as in no lost limbs or eyesight from premature ignition of what are small bombs placed in John Q. Public’s inexperienced hands.
The cost is steep right now, but as the popularity grows, drones become more common and their users more experienced, prices will go down to levels the local municipalities will be able to manage.
I’m all for these shows. There appear to be no downsides to them, except possibly a disabled drone heading earthward and bonking somebody on the head. At least it’s not blown-off limbs.
We did the “bombs bursting in air” during the battle at Fort McHenry. Maybe it’s time to just let our lights shine on and move to drone shows.
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