Explosions in the sky

Last night, for the first time in the four years we've been in the city, we decided to watch the Fourth of July fireworks. They were dazzling, in their way, but they still unnerve me; I'm not one for loud noises, even on a good day, and these were, as one would expect, loud. Give me a sparkler, a Pop-It, even one of those little charcoal snakes, any day.