Memorial Day

I woke up at 3:30 in the morning on Monday to the loudest noise I've ever heard in my life. I often wake up in the middle of the night, heart pounding wildly, with this same thought, "it's Judgment Day," only to realize that it was a motorcycle roaring by 19 flights below, or an angry cab driver laying on his horn. This time was different. The sound was a loud crack that echoed through the streets of the upper east side. My immediate thought, after "Judgement Day," was "that was the loudest thunder crack I've ever heard. Surely the entire City will be talking about this tomorrow." I did hear multiple sirens going off, but I assumed the noise had set off every car alarm in the street. The following morning my roommate, who is an extremely deep sleeper and didn't even stir at the deafening clamor, came in from an errand to report that it wasn't a thunder clap i heard, but in fact, it was a bomb that exploded on the front stoop of our local Starbucks two blocks down. It was a homemade bomb engineered from a water bottle. Fortunately, it only shattered the windows of the Starbucks, and yet, it caused enough racket to wake up the neighborhood, at least, everyone but my heavy-sleeping roommate! Way to ring in the holiday, huh?