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| Narberth Fireworks celebrated both Indepdence and Reuniting |
With the sky darkened and the hour well past nine, our July 4th fireworks crew at Narberth Park eagerly anticipated the main event, and an to end of the time-killing patter and announcements from the stage..
But then - without any fanfare, the good-natured, barely-audible emcee casually tucked in an announcement concerning a missing 10-year-old girl. The humdrum Amber Alert continued to be parsed into the pre-show banter at a volume level just a tad above discernible - at least for the many of us sitting in the prime-viewing section on the infield.
After nearly another five to ten minutes of laid-back, hard-to-decipher mentions of the missing girl, another voice emerged loud and clear, through the speakers. The crowd was crisply called to attention and the missing girl's identity, age, description and last-known whereabouts were decisively and unambiguously announced by a new authoritative voice that meant business.
This voice advised that the lost girl had been visiting from out-of-town and became separated from her family while milling in the throng through the streets surrounding Narberth Park's viewing area.. Given the family atmosphere and relative security of the environs, I think most locals - myself included - were concerned but confident of a swift and successful resolution.
But the drama persisted for some time. The crowd was repeatedly admonished to be silent and look around for the missing girl. The girl was urged and cajoled to make her presence known if she could hear the alarm. The pre-show revelry was completely usurped by an all-out Amber Alert and palpable tension as the minutes continued to tick by.
It became real evident that there would be and could be no joyful fireworks show, as long as the specter of a lost, wandering, potentially abducted girl was left without a happy resolve.
Narberth is a small borough with an idyllic facade, but July 4th Fireworks draw a huge crowd from neighboring towns and the city of Philadelphia, less than two miles away.
I'm sometimes unduly afraid - but when rational - I'm doubtful the worst has ocurred or will occur. Despite the constant internet-reports of child-related tragic events somewhere on the globe, mundanity has a huge statistical probabiltiy over serial-style outcomes.
Even so, practical cynicism was no match for the immediate anxiety I felt as the Amber-like Alert generated no found girl and was repeated several times. From the murmuring of fellow blanket-sitters, it was evident my concerns were shared by others.
If she's here, why doesn't somebody recognize her? Why doesn't she reach out to someone and say, "I'm the girl." What if she got turned around, scared of the crowd, isolated and possibly controlled by one of the many strangers at this fairly chaotic, night-time public festivity?
Adding to the intensity, was the fact that this girl and her parents had just come from the same nearby backyard bbq that I attended with my son. She'd been horsing around with him and other kids just hours before. Hysterical over-reaction or not, me and many others had knots in our stomachs juggling our worst fears among the ice cream trucks and glow sticks.
I thought about the girl's parents and the anxiety and guilt they must be experiencing. I tried on the analytical cynicism and wondered what this scene would have been like some 40 years earlier when I was a boy. Would a child lost for 30-some minutes in 1973 have created so much intensity? Were things different back then and the world a safer more predictable place? Are we just hyper-aware of danger now and in need of a big chill pill?
After way too long, the announcement finally came from the stage that the little girl had been found. Everyone cheered! We couldn't see it for the crowd, but the emcee gave a play-by-play of the missing girl and her Daddy embracing in front of the stage... What a relief.
Moments later, in the few seconds between the National Anthem's conclusion and sucking thud of the first rocket's launch, an Amtrak train came speeding down the tracks overlooking the park and let loose a sublimely-timed and fervent whistle blast. I let out a loud whoop, threw my fist into the air, celebrating the happy outcome and chance to finally just lay back and enjoy the show.
