About a week ago I was driving around to run some errands and I noticed a sure sign that made me realize that summer was already well underway.
The fireworks sale tents were going up and getting ready for the Fourth of July holiday. While there are some places that are open year round, most fireworks sellers usually open up a couple of weeks before the holiday and get ready for the busiest time of year. While there are other signs of summer when I see those tents I know summer is truly here.
Nowadays it's curious to see those stands given that in many places you can't shoot off fireworks in the city limits.
They do bring back memories of childhood in a way though. It was a different time in a lot of ways to be a kid. Sure for some kids there may have been summer camp (either a day camp or some sleep away camp) of some sort, but for many kids (myself included) the summer days were basically their own. The relative lack of structure left you free to go out and do whatever: swimming, go to the arcade, the park, or even just go for a walk. While there may have been summer reading lists, they were more suggestions than expectations as kids were out riding bikes and trying to make the best of their circumstances (something kids are always trying to do). Yes, there was stranger danger and some of the fears that parents have now. However, at a time when kids were allowed to go outside relatively unsupervised, there wasn't as much overprotection as there is today.
One memory I have of summer is fireworks. Yes they were illegal in some places, but compared to now it seemed like a free for all.
Where I lived at the time if they could see your head over the tables where the fireworks were displayed then you were considered old enough to buy them. The warning signs on the packages just children should not use them without adult supervision, but parents were a little more relaxed about it when the kid turned around eight or nine. By that time they hoped you had enough sense not to light them in your hand and throw them (even if you sometimes did anyway). I remember using my dad's cigarette to light some firecrackers or a roman candle then running like hell to get to the porch. The smell of gunpowder filling the air as day turned to night.
I also remember the displays from roman candles and other light show type of fireworks people would have just because. Some people would go to a city display for the evening show but just as many on our block would stay home, drink some beer, and take in the scenery and sounds of the fireworks. Yes it was a bummer to clean them up the day after everything happened, but for those few days leading up to the Fourth it was a visceral part of summer for many people. A change from summer nights trying to collect lightning bugs or just watch things from the back porch.
Like all summer memories, things have a habit of changing over time.
As you move further into your teen years fireworks loses a little of its luster. For some kids it was getting injured by some fireworks due to some idiot firing at them (for better or worse we all know people who for some perverse reason enjoyed bottle rocket and roman candle fights). For others it was just getting older and having other things to do (such as a summer job that may have required working on the Fourth). Eventually, things changed in a number of ways. More and more places started cracking down on people using fireworks in the city limits (but still allowing them in the countryside) as well as more concern over injuries meant kids getting fireworks would become less common as we moved toward today.
In a way I miss those days. I understand safety concerns and the desire of parents to want to keep their kids safe. However, I also remember a time that when most kids didn't wear helmets while riding bicycles and many parents thought little about letting their children play with what are very small explosives. In many ways it was a far more riskier and dangerous time to be young. However, it also allowed a sense of wonder and freedom that I think kids might be missing out on. As an adult, I realize I have a number of other things to be concerned about in terms of survival and making ends meet. But I still on occasion have a fond memory of the summers of my youth when I see those temporary fireworks tents.
