CELEBRATION OF LIGHT

Tonight kicks of the “Celebration of Light” the annual fireworks festival that goes on down in English Bay. It’s traditionally a nightmare for those of us who live in the West End. It’s not bad if you have a balcony with a view of the Bay, otherwise the crowds are particularly miserable, if not down right frightening. A couple of fights usually break - someone always gets hurt.
I tend to avoid the fireworks. After a while, they all look the same. My biggest concern was how the dog was going to handle the barrage of blasts overhead. We’re not far from the barge where they launch the pyrotechnics, and I’ve heard stories of dogs having heart attacks from the noise. We have a couple of roof decks on our building that are common areas. I took the dog up to the ninth floor with me so I could watch them and keep an eye on him. The noise wasn’t as bad as I thought it was going to be, muffled as it was by the high rises flanking the shore. The dog seemed to be handling it fine. A few minutes into it I got bored and headed back to my apartment to avoid the crush of people needing the elevators. When we got back home, Yukon curled up around my feet for protection from the noise.
I made a point of getting Yukon to beach in the early part of the afternoon. People have been known to stake a spot on the beach as early as the 3 PM to insure a good view. There were already a couple of shelters on the sand when I got there at one in the afternoon.
This weekend is Gay Pride Day in Vancouver and there’s been a noticeable influx of muscular men in town for the festivities. Little Sisters bookstore is busy with people buying to tickets to overpriced parties and cruises. I can’t afford any of them. As it stands, I’ll be lucky to have thirty bucks to spend on Pride Day.
I was coming back from Ollie’s place in the middle of the afternoon. He got me a little drunk and stoned as always and then we went our separate ways: I, to get dog food, and he to the bank. The streets were crawling with men. It made my skin crawl. Usually, an influx of hot men is considered a good thing, but here I was taking side streets to avoid them. It’s no wonder I’m single. I really need to do something about that.