Give Me Fireworks Or Give Me Death 2 Part 1: The Scissor Lift
On July 3 every year, in downtown Columbus, there are fireworks set off at COSI, in an event called Red, White, & Boom. My parents always host a party on the roof of my dad’s studio, Kobolt, to watch the fireworks. I have always loved fireworks, and when they didn’t have them during the pandemic, I was very upset. So the installment I wrote about the first Red, White & Boom post-COVID was called Give Me Fireworks Or Get Me Death. I am recycling that name here, because it’s a really good theme for this two-parter.
Paige and I got to Koblot at about 6:30 p.m. on July 3rd, 2025. Nimba, Uncle Scott, Lexi, Aunt Shana’s best friend, Jamie, and her family were already there. Paige’s parents and her little brother Brennan arrived shortly after us, along with one of his best friends. Our family friends Tim and Kristin arrived next, followed by Arden and Marshall, Noah, and finally Aspen, Kid, and Aspen‘s friend James. About 30 others were in attendance as well.
Now, as I explained in the installment I wrote about the first time we watched Red White & Boom from the roof when I was a kid, (Kobolt’s Red White & Boom Party!) Dad took me, Ryan, and one of our neighbors to the studio, and we climbed up to the roof using an extension ladder (which Mom did not appreciate). It turned into a party from there, and we started using a scissor lift (though the ladder is still propped up). I have operated the scissor lift since I was 16.
This year’s lift was a bit bigger than usual, and when I started taking people up at 8:30, the lift struggled a few times. Everyone was up on the roof by 9:15, and I spent the next hour mingling with everyone. The fireworks usually start at 10, but for some reason, by 10:10, they had not started yet. It was then, as I was talking to Noah, that Paige pulled me aside and said she had to use the bathroom.
I turned on the lift, we went down, and I waited for her to return. As Paige was walking back to me, the first fireworks went off. I turned on the lift, pushed the joystick up, and nothing happened. I turned it off and back on, but nothing changed. “Oh no!” I exclaimed, starting to feel a bit anxious because of FOMO.
“It's Okay,” Paige said, stopping a full-on autism meltdown, “let's just climb up the ladder!”
We climbed up the ladder, and we only ended up missing about 2 minutes of the fireworks. All things considered, not bad. When the fireworks ended, I told Dad and Josh what had happened, and they went down to fix it. As the line began to form, I said to everyone, “So the lift gave out on me. They are trying to fix it now, but if they can’t, we’ll just have to start a new society up here. I’ll be your leader! Everything will be Okkkkay!”
To Be Continued…
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