We have unusual cats, especially Chris. There is just no better way to say that.

Yesterday we had a lot of company at our house and, as usual, Chris was up in everybody’s business. There is nothing surprising about that. Chris is a very social cat. What is a little surprising is what happened later.

We had planned on walking around the corner where we could watch the city fireworks display but a thunderstorm rolled in just before the fireworks were supposed to start. We sat on our patio as the wind pushed the rain through the screens. We were hoping it would be like a typical summer shower and be over quickly but it lasted long enough for us to give up on watching the fireworks.

Then the rain ended as suddenly as it began and several locals began setting off their own fireworks that we could see from our patio. It quickly became very loud and Chris jumped up on the cat perch to get a better view.

He never ceases to amaze me. I know Chris and I knew that he would not be afraid of the fireworks but he was actually fascinated by them. He watched them with the same interest that he would watch a squirrel running up the screen.

Frankie was also not afraid of the fireworks and spent much of the evening on the patio as well but he took a more passive interest in the fireworks. Puck, as expected, was nowhere in sight but even he surprised me. Instead of being under the bed, he was actually napping on top of our bed and seemed not to notice the noise.

After a half hour or so the fireworks started getting better. It seemed that several neighbors on the other side of the marina spent a lot of money on fireworks, one in particular. Rose and I went outside and sat near the dock to watch the display. There was a ten minute stretch were it seemed to be more spectacular than most “official” fireworks displays.

While we were out there I kept thinking I should have brought my video camera with me but I was afraid it would be over by the time I got it. Eventually, I did get it and captured some good moments but not as good as what I missed. Someone even had a remote control helicopter that was probably filming everything from the air. Some people just have all the toys. I was told this morning that one homeowner spent $25,000 on fireworks for our enjoyment. Did I ever mention that I love where we live?