Happy New Year!

Tonight I think we've seen more fireworks than the last 10 years combined. Little known tidbit about Hawaiians: they LOVE things that go 'boom.' So much so, that two days ago coworkers were warning me about the heavy blanket of cordite smoke that would be hanging over the island tonight. They said every New Years and 4th of July local authorities are concerned about people with asthma and other respiratory problems. I figured they were exaggerating for the new guy.

I was wrong.

From our back deck, we can see a 3/4 view of the southern coast of Oahu. From horizon to horizon, there were shells going off. It was was the closest thing to a city under heavy bombardment I ever hope to experience. Right after sunset, the sky was clear and the moon and Jupiter were very bright in the sky. We had some friends over, and by the time we'd let our kids light their itty-bitty firecrackers and sparklers, you couldn't see a single star for the haze that drifted over southern Oahu. Never seen anything like it, and I can't IMAGINE how much was spent on all the explosives that are still going off as I type this. I tried my best to get some photos, but none do it justice. So just enjoy this one I found posted on a Hawaiian website.