by Lisa
Earlier in the week, my students were working with an excerpt from the short story “The Firefly Hunt.” The imagery took me back to summer nights chasing fireflies, mason jar in hand, in my own backyard. Then it occurred to me that I haven’t seen a firefly in a very long time. That thought made me question whether or not my own children have experienced a firefly hunt, so I asked Olivia, and she responded with “I have only seen them in the movie The Princess and the Frog.” That saddened me.
Earlier in the week, my students were working with an excerpt from the short story “The Firefly Hunt.” The imagery took me back to summer nights chasing fireflies, mason jar in hand, in my own backyard. Then it occurred to me that I haven’t seen a firefly in a very long time. That thought made me question whether or not my own children have experienced a firefly hunt, so I asked Olivia, and she responded with “I have only seen them in the movie The Princess and the Frog.” That saddened me.
My favorite novel is To Kill a Mockingbird. The English teacher in me appreciates it as a literary work- a simple plot with rich lessons. It is a sobering reminder of a dark period in our nation’s history, both racially and economically, but it also depicts acts of love and human kindness. It brings thoughtful discussions into the classroom, and students remember it long after they leave high school. However, I love it more for the personal connection. Every time I read it, I am transported back to the sweet days of my adolescence- back to the days of firefly hunts.
Although I was born about 40 years after Scout roamed the streets of Maycomb, the setting and characters remind me of my hometown and its inhabitants. Like Scout, I grew up in a sleepy little town in the South that didn’t have much more than a post office, a country store, and a caution light. I, too, had an older brother who seemed put out when I tagged along with him but was forced by my parents to endure me. Boo Radley’s suspected indiscretions had nothing on the colorful characters in our community that scared us children to death. So many other elements of the book make me nostalgic for the long, hot summer days in Holt.
The world has changed so much since that time that seems so long ago now. Unfortunately, so many of my fond memories are things my children will never experience.
They will never jump on their bikes after breakfast and stay gone until dark.
They will never ride to the river on the tailgate of a pickup, dragging their bare feet across the red dirt road.
They will never make a pallet in the floorboard of the car to sleep during road trips to visit family out of state—- or lie in the back window and make faces at the drivers of the cars behind them.
They will never walk into a convenience store and put an ice cream cone or a bag of chips and a soda on their parents’ tab.
They will never go outside to adjust the antenna so that Mom can get a clearer picture of Dallas or Knot’s Landing.
They will never know the awkwardness of picking up the land line to hear someone in the neighborhood already in a conversation on the party line they share.
They will never know the frustration of finding a scratch on their favorite record or in having to twist the tape back into a cassette.
They will never know the excitement of waiting for the bookmobile to arrive so that they can check out a book.
They may never know what it feels like to sleep on the pews of the church every night during a week-long revival.
They will never know what it feels like to sleep all night with the doors unlocked and the windows open.
Yes, things are so very different now! The world is safer yet scarier, more advanced yet less connected. So I know there is much from my childhood that my kids will never get to experience. But the fireflies! I will make sure that they get to chase fireflies.
