Lightnin' in a Bottle

When I was a kid, there was always something to do... and most times, it was us kids who thought up that "something".  In warm, dry weather, it was always an outside "something".  We'd play kids games, like "Mother May I?" and "Red Light, Green Light".  We'd play in the sand pile that Dad made each year, or swing on the swings.  We'd walk to Grandmother's house (just a field between our house and hers), or play with our cousins, sometimes at their house, sometimes at ours.  There was always something to do.  

When the sun started going down, there was a special something we loved doing... "ketchin lightnin bugs".  Lightning Bugs, or FireFlies to some folks, are slow flying insects that primarily come out at dusk.  They have a bio-luminescent abdomen that they can blink on and off in an attempt to entice a mate.  We thought they were magical.  Sometimes we'd get Mom to make us a mason jar with holes punched in the lid to put them in.  We usually remembered to let them go after awhile, or just take the lid off the jar and leave them to find the opening.  They'd be gone by morning, but to this day I can call up images in my head of those twinkling lights, as if we had somehow captured magic in a mason jar for just a little while.  

It was a time of dreams, a time of wonder, a time of discovery.  It was a safer time, not just because our parents protected us and saw to our needs, but the world as a whole was safer.  There weren't as many diseases carried by bugs nor as many people as a whole  It was just a time when doors weren't locked at night, when it was safe to go wandering through the woods, when you knew all your neighbors and we all helped each other when the need arose.  

Nowadays, there are more people living on our rural road than ever.  Where once there were 8 - 10 houses on our entire 2 mile road, there are well over 200 (so says the mailman).  Side streets have sprung up off what used to be a dusty country road, with lots of houses clustered on each.  Where acres of pasture and fields once lay, now stands houses of all sorts with groomed yards and, often, barking dogs.  Nowadays, there are more neighbors that we don't know than that we do.  Nowadays folks more or less stay to themselves, surrounding themselves with the familiar, not daring to go out and meet new neighbors because of all the hate-mongering that is so permeates the media these days.  We fear the differences in people nowadays, rather than embrace them for what could come of combining idea and ideals.

Nowadays.... doors are locked, cars are locked, bugs carry all sorts of diseases, the woods are no longer safe to go walking in, neighbors ignore neighbors, and kids are more often inside than out.  It's a sadder and scarier world.

Here's the thing though...  if we continue to think that so much can change in the world without it affecting not only each of us, but all future generations, we are sorely mistaken. Change can be a good thing, but it can be a dangerous thing if we're not paying attention well enough to guide those changes from bad to good, to stem the chaos and propagate more peaceful times.  It really is up to us.... all of us.

And here's the sad thing... our lightning bugs are dying... extinction is not an impossibility.  Imagine a world without fireflies.  Just like when we forgot and left them in the mason jar too long, their numbers are decreasing all over the US.  Scientists don't really know specifically why, but often point toward advancing urban development and habitat destruction, too much light outside during the night, climate change, and pesticides.  Why don't they know for sure?  Because lightning bugs have been so common for so long that no one thought to study them.  There are several studies going on now that their decline has been noticed, but it may be another sad story of "too little, too late".  There are some links in the footnotes, if you want to learn more about what's going on and what you can do to help.

The magic of a warm summer evening will never disappear from our mind's eye. The memories we made and the stories we tell about them will keep that magic alive forever. With a little effort, we can see the magic live on for future generations.  It's all a part of being a good steward of those things we are given charge over... our memories, our land, our neighborhood.  

Take a little advice from a FireFly:  Be full of bright ideas... Pulse with excitement... Have a healthy glow.... Delight in summer evenings... Keep a childlike sense of wonder.... Set a shining example.... Lighten up!

Photographer Unknown

More information on lightning bugs:

http://www.firefly.org/

Firefly Watch - a community of Citizen Scientists working with the Museum of Science. 
Anyone can join:

https://legacy.mos.org/fireflywatch