Striped on the Fourth of July

It was an 8+ hour train ride back to NYC on July 4, not counting the wait at the train station beforehand. VSC couldn't get us out of their place fast enough. The infamous Combo (pizza flavor) snack, my fellow Vermont Studio Centerian Julia Hickey, the movie Stripes (1981), and a large Red Stripe beer were my only company. I am convinced Amtrak, while generous with the leg room, designed chairs specifically to keep people awake or cause massive spinal injury. I could not really get too much sleep throughout. I tried fetal postions, the downward dog, the Golden Lotus, the kick-to-the-stomach, all unable to crack the sleep code of these chairs. A bummer since I had slept only 4 hours the night before due to late night packing.
When I arrived in NYC, I was greeted by the familiar smell of piss and hot dog that usually accompany the summer. Yum. But it was a sweet piss smell. It's been two years since I've been here. I later watched fireworks on a roof in Brooklyn with Metal Mags and Collin Cringle. I thought the fireworks display did its job and appeared to set the sky ablaze with color and form. Cringle was 'in' with all the different fireworks names like "The Amazer", "The Supersplat", and my favorite, the "Octosnatch". Oh, and the rain didn't put the fireworks out!