USS Flagship Hotel

Well shoot, what ya wanna talk bout today?

Speak'n of fireworks gone wrong, it was back in 1965 if'n I remember right. I lived in a little beach cottage in Galveston Texas one block off the sea wall. Along the sea wall was a bunch of piers extend'n out into the Gulf of Mexico. If'n ya ever been to Galveston, ya know what I'm talk'n bout. Tourist trap little shops sell'n trinkets, skimpy bikinis, sea shells....that kind of stuff. There was eat'n places where ya sit out over the water an' eat seafood. A big hotel. That hotel is the subject of today's discussion.

The name of that hotel was the Flagship Hotel. Brand spank'n new. Builded in 1965, 7 stories, 250 plus rooms...or something like that. If'n ya had a sack full of money to spend, this was the place to do it.

It was the 4th of July. This years fireworks display was scheduled to be set off from the pier of the Flagship Hotel at 9:30pm sharp. People lined the sea wall in anticipation....danc'n in the streets, drink'n beer an' stuff like that. Kids run'n round with little sparkle thingys scream'n at the top their lungs. I was perched on top my old '56 Ford across the street. Had me a perfect birds eye view of the festivities, close to the same angle as in the photo above.....safe from any form or sort of danger.

At 9:30 sharp, a burst of light goes off at the end of the pier. A hunnert (300 feet or so) into the air is a great explosion of little bitty stars fall'n back to earth in colors of red, white an' blue. The crowds break into shouts and screams of joy. For a full 5 minutes, the spectators are astonished with a display of ever kind of firework imaginable. But wait.....there's more.

The next round of fireworks was made ready. The crowds are tense. That's when the most amazing display you ever see takes place. There was shoot'n stars, huge explosions....white smoke filled the air.  The display had gone wrong. Done blowed slap up, right there on the pier. Workers could be seen jump'n into the waters below. Others were run'n in all direction for their dear lives. Me, I was climb'n down off'n that old Ford lickity split, tak'n cover while fireworks was explod'n all around me. That was the most amazing fireworks display I ever see in my whole life.

In other displays of explosions gone wrong around the world, Egypt erupts into violence....all in the name of freedom.

In case anybody is curious, this is how you modify shoes. Ya see, my right shoe wouldn't stretch far enough to be comfortable and not cause the old Billy Bob foot an' mouth disease (pain). So's I removed the little piece of leather that holds them together.

Now they stretch.