A Fool and his Words are Soon Parted

Thunder is Coming! April 21, 2006

If you don’t live in the Louisville, KY area, you may not be aware that “Thunder Over Louisville” is on the way. The largest annual fireworks displays in the world happens every year to kick of the Kentucky Derby Festival (the closest thing to Mardi Gras that you’ll find in the Bible Belt).

“Thunder” is tomorrow, with the airshow beginning around Noon, and the fireworks beginning at 9:30 PM EST. Here’s a live shot of the command center, from which they kick off the show. This year’s airshow will include A10’s, Harriers, F15’s, F16’s, F18’s, an F22, and the B1B. (Today at lunch, some of the planes were already practicing their routes north of the Louisville area, along the river corridor where my house is located. WOOOOHOOOOO!)

The first B1B flyover during a “Thunder” airshow was one of the more memorable moments, and included a high-speed run down the river and a nose-up, full-on-the-burners slingshot trip into the clouds, right over the downtown area. It was louder than any of the fireworks we would hear hours later. 😀

Since its inception, I have missed seeing “Thunder” in person only twice. Short of some kind of personal disaster, I expect to be down by the river, as close as I can get, for the 2006 version. If you’re unlucky enough to not live close enough to see “Thunder” in person (along with a predicted 750,000+ of your closest friends), you can check it out online.