Dear sandy feet,

I read in several different local papers that the 1998 Fireworks on the Bay season was going to kick off Fri. May 22. Well I was there early with my family and all my supplies and - you guessed it - no fireworks. We had to stick around all weekend so we could see them on Sun. night. That wasn't so bad because we had a lot of fun but then I started asking around to see if there is going to be fireworks on Fridays throughout the rest of the summer. Some say yes, some say no, some admit they don't have a clue. So I know you will give me the straight scoop - are there going to be weekend fireworks this summer on spi?

Well, yes. Maybe. Actually, I am not sure. I read in one place that there is going to be fireworks every Fri. but I too fell victim to the Memorial Day misinformation debacle and do not planned to get fooled again. This then is my new Friday night plan - one I would suggest you adopt as well:

Come to the Island every Friday all summer long. Hope for fireworks - but don't expect them. Get here early as a lot of other confused people will be showing up expecting/hoping for fireworks as well. Grab a seat at your favorite bayside watering hole. Order a tall cool something to sip and something tasty to munch. Repeat as necessary until a) fireworks happen, b) someone makes you an offer that sounds like more fun than fireworks, or c) the bartender tells you it's closing time.

The Memorial Day fireworks were great - our compliments to whoever was in charge of selecting the music that accompanied them - but in just a few minutes they are over with and then where do you go? That, my friend, should be your biggest concern! Lucky for all of us the SPI Bayfront teams with possibilities all summer long: disco for the dancing fools, bungie jumping, etc. for the thrill junkies, great food, drinks and live music to accommodate every taste -- all within a few block radius. are we lucky or what?

Hey sandy feet!

I hate you. You have the life I should have had. In fact, I think since we are the same age that there is a good possibility that we were switched at birth and you are leading the life that is rightfully mine and vice versa. Well, I think it is time to switch back...

Okay, if you won't switch back how about just letting me stow away in your suitcase when you go to Europe?

Well, okay. You can come. In fact, I would like to take this opportunity to invite each and every one of you to join me on my journey. You too can spend a night with me in a real Irish castle, tag along as I do the Amsterdam Pub Crawl and hike up an Alpine mountain trail. Maybe we will hop on a gondola in Venice, check out some sculpture in Rome and the excavations in Pompeii -- we're going to keep the itinerary flexible -- but you will certainly enjoy peering over my shoulder as I build the best sandcastle I can in Jesolo - on the shores of the Adriatic Sea.

Yes, my friends, this is your big opportunity to go where I go, see what I see and feel what I feel! And all you will need to accompany me on my journey is access to a powerful computer and a fast modem!

That's right -- I will be traveling with my laptop computer and digital camera so that I can post regular updates detailing all the fun I am having. Just point your browser to http://sandyfeet.com and we can all experience the wonders of Europe... together!

(Disclaimer: This is of course assuming that my European dial up access is all it claims to be, that my Powerbook and/or digital camera are not stolen at the airport; that my modem is not fried by an unmarked digital telephone system and that I really understand all the phone and electrical adaptor stuff as well as I think I do.)