We understand some people will be peeved Alpena will again shoot off July 4 fireworks on July 3 next year.

Tradition, after all, matters.

But we know our city leaders have done all they can to make the fireworks show a great one, and we choose to look on the bright side of things.

The city had to have July 3 fireworks this year because its vendor canceled the July 4 date on short notice.

Still, thousands of people clogged the shoreline and the surrounding environs, and the show was — as typical — a great show.

Plus, with many employees getting July 4 off, the July 3 show meant they could stay up late to watch the fireworks and enjoy other revelry without having to worry about waking up early to get to work. They could still make it to the July 4 parade, The Alpena News Sandcastle Contest, and other festivities on the Fourth, which, along with backyard barbecues and some store-bought fireworks, still made the day a special one.

We love tradition. We’ve been around 125 years, so we know a thing or two about it.

But we also think you have to take life as it comes and make good with what you get, so we choose to believe the July 3 fireworks still will be a bang, and we look forward to the show.

(THE ALPENA NEWS)